Literary Analysis #7

1. The Joy Luck Club is about a club Suyuan Woo creates during the Chinese war. The club is established during the war but continues in America long after all the warring has stopped. The joy luck club, consists of four Chinese women and there daughters as members. At these meetings they talk, eat, and gamble. The women grow old together until Suyuan the founder dies. Her daughter June Woo 37 at the time struggles with the idea of replacing the place a mother should hold.All of the girls struggle with their relationships with there mothers. Eventually June discovers that her mother had more children in china and that her sisters have been found, the book concludes with the other girls sending June to meet her sisters.
 2. The general theme of this novel is the relationship between mother and daughter and the ultimate sacrifice a mother will make for her own. In the novel all the daughters struggle with there overall relationship and emotional connections with their mothers, feeling overall sadness, joy, and discovery.
3. Tan's tone through out the novel is very serious which is appropriate considering the topics that are being addressed. There are even times where the tone and mood of the book are slow moving and depressing.
“Then you must teach my daughter this same lesson. How to lose your innocence but not your hope. How to laugh forever.”
 “Now you see,' said the turtle, drifting back into the pond, 'why it is useless to cry. Your tears do not wash away your sorrows. They feed someone else's joy. And that is why you must learn to swallow your own tears.”
  “Because sometimes that is the only way to remember what is in your bones. You must peel off your skin, and that of your mother, and her mother. Until there is nothing. No scar, no skin, no flesh.
4. Tan takes advantage of many literary devices when writing the novel The Joy Luck Club, some of which are foreshadowing, simile, metaphor, allusion, rhetorical questions, theme, motifs, symbolism, tone, and symbolism.
 "Over the years, she told me the same story, except for the ending, which grew darker, casting long shadows into her life, and eventually into mine."
 "Even though I was young, I could see the pain of the flesh and the worth of the pain."
 "After the gold was removed from my body I felt lighter, more free. They say this is what happens if you lack metal. You begin to think as an independent person."
 "And now I also see what part of me is Chinese. It is so obvious. It is my family. It is in our blood."
 "Why are you attracted only to Chinese nonsense?"
 "I wanted my children to have the best combination: American circumstances and Chinese character. How could I know these things do not mix?"
"In my mother's case, this would be the first day of the lunar new year. And because it is the new year, all debts must be paid, or disaster and misfortune will follow."
 "That bad crab, only you tried to take it. Everybody else want best quality. You, your thinking different. Waverly took best-quality crab. You took worst, because you have best-quality heart. You have style no one can teach. Must be born this way. I see you."
 “Isn't hate merely the result of wounded love?”
 “And I think now that fate is shaped half by expectation, half by inattention. But somehow, when you lose something you love, faith takes over."
 “So this is what I will do. I will gather together my past and look. I will see a thing that has already happened. the pain that cut my spirit loose. I will hold that pain in my hand until it becomes hard and shiny, more clear. And then my fierceness can come back, my golden side, my black side. I will use this sharp pain to penetrate my daughter's tough skin and cut her tiger spirit loose. She will fight me, because this is the nature of two tigers. But I will win and giver her my spirit, because this is the way a mother loves her daughter.”
 “In two years' time, my scar became pale and shiny and I had no memory of my mother. That is the way it is with a wound. The wound begins to close in on itself, to protect what is hurting so much. And once it is closed, you no longer see what is underneath, what started the pain."
 “A girl is like a young tree, she said. You must stand tall and listen to your mother standing next to you. That is the only way to grow strong and straight. But if you bend to listen to other people, you will grow crooked and weak. You will fall to the ground with the first strong wind. And then you will be like a weed, growing wild in any direction, running along the ground until someone pulls you out and throws you away. ”
 “There's no hope. There's no reason to keep trying.
Because you must. This is not hope. Not reason. This is your fate. This is your life, what you must do.”

Characterization:
1.Tan uses a combination of both indirect and direct characterization to add a higher quality to her characters. An example of indirect characterization would he the way the other girls react to the things that are shared at their club meetings or when the story telling is in play. And some examples of when she uses direct characterization would be when she reveals June's true feelings and struggles she faces when approaching her relationship with her mother or in other words the lack of one.
2. The author's syntax and diction does change when switching the focus from character to character and this is because the characters speak in first person throughout the novel when they give their testimonies to the reader therefore they must in order for it to make sense, because each girl is different and facing different struggles and situations. 
3. The protagonist of the story, June, is dynamic in my eyes because after she discovers her sisters in china she has a whole new look on life and is much less bitter about her situation. She is also a round character because she has many qualities about her.
4. Overall when looking back on my reading of the book I do feel as if I've actually met these people and think that is partly because of my experiences speaking with other minorities here in Santa Maria and the troubles they faced. The story is not just a cultural story but a story of family in which we can ultimately all relate to.

Literary Analysis #6

1. For my sixth literary analysis I chose Grapes of Wrath by John Steinbeck. This novel is a fictional story based on the historical dust bowl event that took place in the United States during the 1930's. In the story a family, called the Joad family, is kicked out of their home by the banks and forced to travel around California working various low paying jobs including field workers. Through out the course of the story the family cases many tragedies including financial hardships, depression, and death.
2. The main theme of the novel is the importance of family despite all the hardships the Joad's are forced to face they remain strong due to each others physical and emotion support. They prove that family is all that you really need in this world.
3. Steinbeck's tone within the novel is strong willed and persistent. He continual brings up topics and relationships relating those back to previous analogies. Through this repetition he makes Tom Joad, the main character, experience my experience in a literary sense.
4. Steinbeck incorporates numerous literary devices into the novel Grapes of Wrath including tone, imagery, figurative language, symbolism, allegory, allusions, similes, hyperbole, motif, and personification.
"Sure - I seen it. But sometimes a guy'll be a good guy even if some rich bastard makes him carry a sticker." Chapter 2, pg. 9
  "sleeping life waiting to be spread and dispersed." Chapter 3, pg. 17
 "Muley's got a-holt of somepin, an' it's too big for him, an' it's too big for me." Chapter 6 , pg. 61
"He'd come to our house in the night sometimes, an' we knowed he come 'cause jus' as sure as he come there'd be a pack of gum in the bed right beside ever' one of us. We thought he was Jesus Christ Awmighty." Chapter 8, pg. 87
  "It ain't kin we? It's will we... As far as 'kin.' We can't do nothin', not go to California or nothin'; but as far as "will,' why, we'll do what we will." Chapter 10, pg. 130
 "66 is the path of a people in flight, refugees from dust and shrinking land, from the thunder of tractors and invasion, from the twisting winds that howl up out of Texas, from floods that bring no richness to the lnad and steal what little richness is there." Chapter 12, pg. 150
  "refire the faith forever." Chapter 12, pg. 155
"the quality of owning freezes you forever into 'I,' and cuts you off forever from the 'we.'" Chapter 14, pg. 193
"Now look-a-here, fella. You got that eye wide open. An' ya dirty, ya stink. Ya jus' askin' for it. Ya like it. Lets ya feel sorry for yaself. 'Course ya can't get no woman with that empty eye flappin' aroun'. Put somepin over it an' wash ya face." Chapter 16, pg. 229 
"They hate you 'cause they're scairt. They know a hungry fella gonna get food even if he got to take it. They know that fallow lan' s a sin an' somebody' gonna take it." Chapter 18, pg. 262
"The cop was right. A crop raised - why, that makes ownership. Land howed and carrots eaten - a man might fight for land he's taken food from." Chapter 19, pg. 302
 "And now the great owners and the companies invented a new method. A great owner bought a cannery. And when the peaches and the pears were ripe he cut the price of fruit below the price of raising it. And as cannery owner he paid himself a low price for the fruit and kept the price of canned goods up and took his profit." Chapter 21, pg. 363
 "Wisht I knowed what all the sins was, so I could do 'em. The migrants looked humbly for pleasure on the roads." Chapter 23, pg. 421
 "Goin' away ain't gona ease us. It's gonna bear us down...They was the time when we was on the lan'. They was a boundary to us then. Ol' folks dies off, an' little fellas come, an' we was one thing - we was the fambly - kinda whole and clear. An' we ain't clear no more." Chapter 26, pg. 500
  "Well, this fella don' want no hangin', 'cause he'd do it again. An' same time, he don't aim to bring trouble down on his folks. Ma - I got to go." Chapter 26, pg. 509
 "Use' ta be the fambly was fust. It ain't so now. It's anybody. Worse off we get, the more we got to do." Chapter 30, pg. 566

 Characterization:
1. Steinbeck uses both direct and indirect characterization when establishing his characters and relationships. A few examples of indirect characterization would be when the family responds to seeing Tom after his stay in prison or when they arrive in California. He uses direct characterization when depicting Tom's inner feeling and emotions which lead to his physical actions.
2. Yes the authors syntax and diction definitely changes when he switches the focus from character to character. Especially between the two main characters Tom and Jim. His use of this technique better defines the characters and their personalities.
3. After reading the book I do feel as if I've met some of these people rather than just read about them. In my opinion I think this is due to the author's repetition of facts and topics that truly drills the concepts of sorrow and sadness into my mind.

Literary Analysis #5

1. For my last literary analysis I chose No Exit. The piece is about a group of people who are sent down to hell for eternity and forced to live in a room together due to there bad decisions while they were alive. Against popular demand the three characters were no tortured or hurt but forced to endure each others company. The three characters Inez, Estelle, and Garcin for a majority of the play fail to understand the severity of their actions and deny why they are really there until finally they explain their mistakes to one another.
2.The message behind the story is to be careful what you do while your alive because in the end you can never take it back.
3.The authors tone in the story is both cynical and didactic. Through out different scenes in the play it is apparently that many of the characters opinions and speeches are influenced by Sartre, in particular with Inez's numerous lessons and snarky remarks.
"There...you know the way the catch larks - with a mirror? I'm your lark-mirror,my dear, and you can't escape me...There isn't any pimple, not a trace of one. So what about it? Suppose the mirror started telling lies? Or suppose I covered my eyes - as he is doing - and refused to look at you, all that loveliness of yours would be wasted on the desert air. No, don't be afraid, I can't help looking at you. I shan't turn my eyes away. And I'll be nice to you, ever so nice. Only you must be nice to me too.”
"Prove it. Prove it was no dream. It’s what one does, and nothing else, that shows the stuff one's made of."
"One always dies too soon - or too late. And yet one's whole life is complete at that moment, with a line drawn neatly under it, ready for the summing up. You are - your life, and nothing else.”
4. There are a number of literary devices that Sartre takes advantage of in order to establish a central meaning and overall tone within the writing some are, allegory, simile, symbolism, imagery, diction, syntax, theme, tone, setting, characterization.
"I'm going to smile, and my smile will sink down into your pupils, and heaven knows what it will become.”
“Hell is—other people!”
“So this is hell. I'd never have believed it. You remember all we were told about the torture-chambers, the fire and brimstone, the "burning marl." Old wives' tales!There's no need for red-hot pokers. HELL IS--OTHER PEOPLE!”
“As for me, I am mean: that means that I need the suffering of others to exist. A flame. A flame in their hearts. When I am all alone, I am extinguished.”
"You are -- your life, and nothing else.”
“So it comes to this; one doesn’t need rest. Why bother about sleep if one isn’t sleepy? That stands to reason, doesn’t it? Wait a minute, there’s a snag somewhere; something disagreeable. Why, now, should it be disagreeable? …Ah, I see; it’s life without a break.”
“Anything, anything would be better than this agony of mind, this creeping pain that gnaws and fumbles and caresses one and never hurts quite enough.”
"I feel so queer. Don't you ever get taken that way? When I can't see myself I begin to wonder if I really and truly exist. I pat myself just to make sure, but it doesn't help much.”
“Remember you're not alone; you've no right to inflict the sight of your fear on me.”
“Your scare me rather. My reflection in the glass never did that; of course, I knew it so well. Like something I had tamed...I'm going to smile, and my smile will sink down into your pupils, and heaven knows what it will become.”
“There were days when you peered into yourself, into the secret places of your heart, and what you saw there made you faint with horror. And then, next day, you didn't know what to make of it,you couldn't interpret the horror you had glimpsed the day before. Yes, you know what evil costs.”
“Oh, what a nuisance you are! I'm giving you my mouth, my arms, my whole body - and everything could be so simple...My trust! I haven't any to give, I'm afraid, and you're making me terribly embarrassed. You must have something pretty ghastly on your conscience to make such a fuss about my trusting you.”

Characterization
1. A good example of indirect characterization in No Exit is the way the room is depicted with out much detail but that we come upon viewing it as ugly and cruel due to the characters reactions and feelings towards it. Another example would be the way Sartre uses the three characters to help characterize each other through thoughts, feelings, and reactions. Sartre also uses direct characterization in some cases for instance when the characters have their confessions or when the characters express their emotions through body language.
2. The authors diction definitely changes among characters. Inez speaks with a very critical and cruel context whereas Estelle speaks with a soft innocence in attempts to appear good hearted and finally Garcin's tone is very unsure and questionably.
3. The characters in the play appear to be flat and static characters, they never really change who they are throughout the play in fact even after they confess their sins they don't seem even the slightest remorseful.
4. After reading the play I don't feel as if I've met actual people and I think this is because of the length and large amounts of indirect characterization with in the plot. However after performing the play the analyzing the characters and their choices I believe now it does feel as if I've met these characters.

Creative Learning

Once upon a time.....

Doodles!

Thinking Outside the Box

Both Plato and Sartre use literary techniques such as allegory and extended metaphor when describing the limitations of our thinking. In Plato's Allegory of the Cave he uses them to compare the similarity prisoners living in a cave have with the ignorance and constraint authority has on society. He uses objects like shackles and shadows to represent distractions and confinements. But in the end it is our free will and desire for something better, the truth. Whereas in Sartre's case with No Exit, he uses extended metaphor to establish the consequences of bad decisions and the limitations that go along with that. He creates an alternate view on hell and its prisoners. In Sartre's story the characters also took advantage of their free will but used it in the wrong way which ultimately ended them their, in hell, for all of eternity.

No Exit

1. My version of hell I guess would the more commonly known one, unlike Sartre's idea of a one room hell. I picture hell as a huge dry and dark place covered in flames and filled with monsters with of course, the most famous of them all, the devil.
2. Hell could definitely be described as too much of one thing. In any case too much of something whether it is good or bad can have a negative effect on the item. Once the subject is over used it becomes no longer desirable or that case valuable.
3. Sartre's creates his own idea of hell through literary devices such as imagery, allegory, and symbolism. He also uses indirect characterization for example how the characters act, say, and feel to establish this torturous place. My idea of a hell on earth would not be being suck in a single room although that would be pretty awful, however it is similar, mine would be being suck in the same schedule with the same people and the same circumstances at the same places with the same end result. I love the idea of free will even if I do the same thing for a whole week I take comfort in knowing that I can change if I want to. Without the option of free will I would surely go crazy and that would be my hell on earth.

Literary Analysis #4

1. Over the break I read A Christmas Carol by Charles Dickens. The story is about a greedy business man name Scrooge who basically isolates himself from society, people. even his family. One night he is visited by the ghost of his past business partner, Jacob Marley. Who reveals that has been forced to suffer a torturous afterlife. He then informs Scrooge that he must change his ways and that he will be visited by three ghosts that night. The first is Christmas's past which takes him back to Christmas as a child where he is alone and depressed. Christmas present is the second which takes him to Bob Cratchits's house his assistant, there they are celebrating with the little they have. Bob's son Tiny Tim is very sick and Scrooge begins to feel sympathy for Bob and worried for Tim. The finally ghost, the ghost of Christmas's future takes scrooge to his funeral where people are rejoicing in his death. After that Scrooge begs to have a second chance at things and the next morning he walks up a new man, kind, giving, and thankful. 
2. The theme of this novel is to be careful what you do and how you treat people, because you can never go back and fix the mistakes you make, like Jacob Marley.
3. The authors tone changes throughout the course of the story according to the change developing in Scrooge. The further into his journey the more the tone switches from sharp and anger to happy and caring. 
“Christmas a humbug, uncle!" said Scrooge's nephew. "You don't mean that, I am sure?"
"I do," said Scrooge. "Merry Christmas! What right have you to be merry? what reason have you to be merry? You're poor enough.” 
“Christmas is a poor excuse every 25th of December to pick a man's pockets.”
“I don't know what to do!" cried Scrooge, laughing and crying in the same breath; and making a perfect Laocoön of himself with his stockings. "I am as light as a feather, I am as happy as an angel, I am as merry as a school-boy. I am as giddy as a drunken man. A merry Christmas to every-body! A happy New Year to all the world! Hallo here! Whoop! Hallo!”
4.Charles Dickens incorporates a number of literary devices in his novel to help develop the overall meaning within the story such as similes, metaphors, personification, allusions, symbolism, pun, allegory, diction, syntax, and theme.
"There are some upon this earth of yours," returned the Spirit, "who lay claim to know us, and who do their deeds of passion, pride, ill-will, hatred, envy, bigotry, and selfishness in our name, who are as strange to us and all out kith and kin, as if they had never lived. Remember that, and charge their doings on themselves, not us."
"External heat and cold had little influence on Scrooge. No warmth could warm, no wintry weather chill him. No wind that blew was bitterer than he, no falling snow was more intent upon its purpose, no pelting rain less open to entreaty."
"Darkness is cheap, and Scrooge liked it."
"You may be an undigested bit of beef, a blot of mustard, a crumb of cheese, a fragment of underdone potato. There's more of gravy than of grave about you, whatever you are!"
"The school is not quite deserted," said the Ghost. "A solitary child, neglected by his friends, is left there still."
"It is required of every man," the ghost returned, "that the spirit within him should walk abroad among his fellow-men, and travel far and wide; and, if that spirit goes not forth in life, it is condemned to do so after death."
“There is nothing in the world so irresistibly contagious as laughter and good humor.” 
“I wear the chain I forged in life....I made it link by link, and yard by yard; I girded it on of my own free will, and of my own free will I wore it.”
“For it is good to be children sometimes, and never better than at Christmas, when its mighty Founder was a child Himself.” 
“Marley was dead: to begin with.”
“He went to the church, and walked about the streets, and watched the people hurrying to and for, and patted the children on the head, and questioned beggars, and looked down into the kitchens of homes, and up to the windows, and found that everything could yield him pleasure. He had never dreamed of any walk, that anything, could give him so much happiness.
“And it was always said of him, that he knew how to keep Christmas well, if any man alive possessed the knowledge. May that be truly said of us, and all of us! And so, as Tiny Tim observed, God bless Us, Every One!” 

Characterization

1. Dickens uses indirect characterization a number of times within A Christmas Carol, particually when first describing Scrooge he often times uses other characters like Scrooge's nephew and the charity collectors. However there are times where he uses direct characterization like when writing about the actions and feelings of Scrooge as he takes the different journeys with the ghosts. 
2. No the authors syntax and diction did not change as the author switched focuses from one character to the next, and this is because the story is primarily told though the voice of one character, Scrooge. 
3. The main character Scrooge is definitely a dynamic character. Throughout the course of the story he witnesses a huge characterization transformation. However at the same time I wouldn't classify Scrooge as a round character but as a flat character because there isn't much too his personality, thoughts, or feelings.
4. After reading the book I do feel as if I've met a character and not just read about a fictional or nonfictional character/person. "It is required of every man," the ghost returned, "that the spirit within him should walk abroad among his fellow-men, and travel far and wide; and, if that spirit goes not forth in life, it is condemned to do so after death."

Allegory of the Cave Sonnet

Can you see the light
The truth behind the shadows
At first it maybe bright
But then you see the meadows

It takes a special person
To venture down an unfamiliar path
For others their condition will worsen
Being continually trapped by societies wrath

They say ignorance is bliss
But that's a false hood
A half minded man should truly miss
Living in lies is simply no good

The moral of this story is find our own reality
Only then can you be completely free in your spirituality

Plato Study Questions

1. According to Socrates, what does the Allegory of the Cave represent?
The Allegory of the Cave represents the ignorance in society.
2. What are the key elements in the imagery used in the allegory?
The key elements in the imagery used in the allegory are the prisoners who represent mankind and its ignorance, the sun which represents the truth or reality as it is, the shackles which represent authority and imprisonment, and the shadows which represent lies and distractions. 
3. What are some things the allegory suggests about the process of enlightenment or education?
The allegory suggests that to seek enlightenment there might be struggles but the hardships or in the story the pain the man receives from moving his neck and breaking the shackles is small compared to the overall gain.
4. What do the imagery of "shackles" and the "cave" suggest about the perspective of the cave dwellers or prisoners?
The perspective of the cave dwellers is cloudy with lies and false realities, the shackles bind them to the cave which metaphorically is a place of ignorance and stupidity.
5. In society today or in your own life, what sorts of things shackle the mind?
 A major shackle in my own life is the common way the school system is supposed to be.
6. Compare the perspective of the freed prisoner with the cave prisoners?
The freed prisoner was enlightened by the new sense of reality whereas the cave prisoners perspective remains corrupted with lies and familiarity.
7. According to the allegory, lack of clarity or intellectual confusion can occur in two distinct ways or contexts. What are they?
They can occur through authority and imprisonment.
8. According to the allegory, how do cave prisoners get free? What does this suggest about intellectual freedom?
The cave prisoner turns his neck and the shackles shatter, this suggests that intellectual freedom is easy to achieve.
9. The allegory presupposes that there is a distinction between appearances and reality. Do you agree? Why or why not?
Yes, there is definitely a distinction between appearances and reality things aren't always what they appear to be. You can't judge a book by its cover.
10. If Socrates is incorrect in his assumption that there is a distinction between reality and appearances, what are the two alternative metaphysical assumptions?

Literary Analysis #3

1. For my third literary analysis I chose Brave New World by Aldous Huxley. The story is a about a new Utopian society created in the future. In this world families, religion, art and science are no longer in existence and woman no longer bare children, instead children are created. Those of whom are then placed into classes which then in turn determine the child's specific role in the future (occupation). In the story a man named Bernard Marx and Lenina take a trip to the "Savage Reservation", an area where things are unaffected by the new utopian ways. There they find a woman named Linda and her son John. John and Linda travel back to London with Bernard. Linda dies and John falls into a deep depression and eventually kills himself.
2. The theme of this novel is that imperfections, mistakes, and struggles are what makes life memorable what makes it worth living. The whole story was about the perfect life with no sadness, mistakes, or personal conflicts, everything was scientifically mapped out for each individual their choices, their careers, their emotions. But no body should have to live that way, Bernard could not. If everything is perfect then everything is actually not. The struggles in life are what make the successes stand out that much more.
3. Huxley's tone in Brave New World is very dramatic at times. For instance when he describes the dark misfortunes of the characters, however he does an excellent job of counter acting those passages with lighthearted puns and parodies.
4. Literary Elements
-tone
"Till at last the child's mind is these suggestions, and the sum of the suggestions is the child's mind. And not the child's mind only. The adult's mind too-all his life long. The mind that judges and desire and decides-made up of these suggestions. But all these suggestions are our suggestions... Suggestions from the State."
"The operation undergone voluntarily for the good of Society, not to mention the fact that it carries a bonus amounting to six months' salary."
-pun
"You all remember, I suppose, that beautiful and inspired saying of Our Ford's: History is bunk."
"Ending is better than mending. The more stitches, the less riches."
"A gramme is better than a damn."
-imagery
"These," he said gravely, "are unpleasant facts; I know it. But then most historical facts are unpleasant."
"Those who feel themselves despised do well to look despising. The smile on Bernard Marx's face was contemptuous."
"The mockery made him feel an outsider; and feeling an outsider he behaved like one, which increased the prejudice against him and intensified the contempt and hostility aroused by his physical defects. Which in turn increased his sense of being alien and alone. A chronic fear of being slighted made him avoid his equals, made him stand, where his inferiors were concerned, self-consciously on his dignity."
-parody
"And that," put in the Director sententiously, "that is the secret of happiness and virtue-liking what you've got to do. All conditioning aims at that: making people like their inescapable social destiny."
"All of the advantages of Christianity and alcohol; none of their defects."
"Bottle of mine, it's you I've always wanted! Bottle of mine, why was I ever decanted? Skies are blue inside of you, The weather's always fine; For There ain't no Bottle in all the world Like that dear little Bottle of mine."
-symbolism
"Ford, we are twelve; oh make us one, Like drops within the Social River; Oh, make us now together run As swiftly as thy shining Flivver. Come, Greater Being, Social Friend, Annihilating Twelve-in-One! We long to die, for when we end, Our larger life has but begun."
"Lying in bed, he would think of Heaven and London and Our Lady of Acoma and the rows and rows of babies in clean bottles and Jesus flying up and Linda flying up and the great Director of World hatcheries and Awonawilona."
-syntax
"What man has joined, nature is powerless to put asunder."
"Community, Identity, Stability"
"The greater a man's talents, the greater his power to lead astray. It is better that one should suffer than that many should be corrupted. Consider the matter dispassionately, Mr. Foster, and you will see that no offense is so heinous as unorthodoxy of behavior. Murder kills only the individual-and, after all, what is an individual?"
-personification
"Yes, and civilization is sterilization."
"When the individual feels, the community reels."
-diction
"Alpha children wear grey. They work much harder than we do, because they're so frightfully clever. I'm awfully glad I'm a Beta, because I don't work so hard. And then we are much better than the Gammas and Deltas. Gammas are stupid. They all wear green, and Delta children wear khaki. Oh no, I don't want to play with Delta children. And Epsilons are still worse. They're too stupid to be able to read or write. Besides they wear black, which is such a beastly color. I'm so glad I'm a Beta."
-metaphor
"One cubic centimeter cures ten gloomy sentiments."
“But I don't want comfort. I want God, I want poetry, I want real danger, I want freedom, I want goodness. I want sin.”
-motif
"In the lift, on their way up to the changing rooms, Henry Foster and the Assistant Director of Predestination rather pointedly turned their backs on Bernard Marx from the Psychology Bureau: averted themselves from that unsavory reputation."

Characterization

1. Huxley likes to switch back and forth throughout his writing from direct and indirect characterization, like most authors do. By doing so this it helps to develop the main characters Bernard Marx and John through their own thoughts and actions and others thoughts and actions towards them. 

2. Huxley's syntax and diction changes dramatically when describing and switching between characters. Just looking at his writing styles when describing the city (London) and its people in the utopian society compared the the savages and there people the diction becomes much more simplistic. The same trend occurs individually when comparing his writing styles with John and Bernard, each worlds apart.

3. To me there are two main characters in this novel, Bernard and John. Bernard is definitely a dynamic and round character. He was so many qualities about himself and this ideas on the world. He wants so hard to understand the world around him and be happy but something is holding him back. He struggles with what to do. As for John, John is the opposite he is a static flat character, up until his death he was very one noted, had little differentiation. In his mind the world is dull and confusing but he does little to try to figure it out. 

4. Since this was a fictional story it was harder for me to connect to the characters at the time, I often found myself confused with their thoughts and reactions. After reading this book I feel more as if I read about characters rather than met them. The characters did not really appear to me and that might have been part of the reason why.

Vocabulary Lists 1-11

aberration - (noun) an optical phenomenon resulting from the failure of a lens or mirror to produce a good image; a disorder in one's mental state; a state or condition markedly different from the norm
abeyance - noun temporary cessation or suspension
abortive - adj. failing to accomplish an intended result

acerbity - noun a sharp sour taste; a sharp bitterness; a rough and bitter manner
acumen - noun a tapering point; shrewdness shown by keen insight

accolade - noun a tangible symbol signifying approval or distinction

Ad hoc- (adverb) for the special purpose or end presently under consideration

adjudicate - verb bring to an end; settle conclusively; put on trial or hear a case and sit as the judge at the trial of
adumbrate - verb give to understand; describe roughly or briefly or give the main points or summary of
affinity - noun a natural attraction or feeling of kinship; inherent resemblance between persons or things; the force attracting atoms to each other and binding them together in a molecule;(immunology) the attraction between an antigen and an antibody; a close connection marked by community of interests or similarity in nature or character; (biology) state of relationship between organisms or groups of organisms resulting in resemblance in structure or structural parts; (anthropology) kinship by marriage or adoption; not a blood relationship
aficionado - noun a serious devotee of some particular music genre or musical performer; a fan of bull fighting
ambivalent - adj. uncertain or unable to decide about what course to follow
anachronism - noun an artifact that belongs to another time; a person who seems to be displaced in time; who belongs to another age; something located at a time when it could not have existed or occurred

apocryphal - adj. being of questionable authenticity; of or belonging to the Apocrypha

apogee - noun apoapsis in Earth orbit; the point in its orbit where a satellite is at the greatest distance from the Earth; a final climactic stage
apostate - adj. not faithful to religion or party or cause; noun a disloyal person who betrays or deserts his cause or religion or political party or friend etc.

apotheosis - noun the elevation of a person (as to the status of a god); model of excellence or perfection of a kind; one having no equal
apropos - adj. of an appropriate or pertinent nature; adv. by the way; at an opportune time
ascetic - adj. practicing great self-denial; pertaining to or characteristic of an ascetic or the practice of rigorous self-discipline; noun someone who practices self denial as a spiritual discipline
attrition - noun the act of rubbing togeter; wearing something down by friction; a wearing down to weaken or destroy; sorrow for sin arising from fear of damnation; the wearing down of rock particles by friction due to water or wind or ice; erosion by frictionh
bane - (noun) something causes misery or death
bathos - (noun) triteness or triviality of style; a change from a serious subject to a disappointing one; insincere pathos

bauble - noun a mock scepter carried by a court jester; cheap showy jewelry or ornament on clothing
beatitude - noun one of the eight sayings of Jesus at the beginning of the Sermon on the Mount; in Latin each saying begins with `beatus' (blessed); a state of supreme happiness

beguile - verb attract; cause to be enamored; influence by slyness
beleaguer - verb surround so as to force to give up; annoy persistently
bete noire- noun someone or something which is particularly disliked or avoided; an object of aversion, the bane of one’s existence

bicker - noun a quarrel about petty points; verb argue over petty things
bilious - adj. suffering from or suggesting a liver disorder or gastric distress; relating to or containing bile; irritable as if suffering from indigestion
bode - verb indicate by signs

bravado - noun a swaggering show of courage

bromide - noun any of the salts of hydrobromic acid; formerly used as a sedative but now generally replaced by safer drugs; a trite or obvious remark
browbeat - verb discourage or frighten with threats or a domineering manner; intimidate; be bossy towards
bruit - verb tell or spread rumors
Burgeon- verb grow and flourish
cantankerous - (adj.) having a difficult and contrary disposition; stubbornly obstructive and unwilling to cooperate
carte blanche - noun complete freedom or authority to act
casuistry - (noun) moral philosophy based on the application of general ethical principles to resolve moral dilemmas; argumentation that is specious or excessively subtle and intended to be misleading
cataclysm - noun an event resulting in great loss and misfortune; a sudden violent change in the earth's surface
chauvinist - noun an extreme bellicose nationalist; a person with a prejudiced belief in the superiority of his or her own kind
chronic - adj. being long-lasting and recurrent or characterized by long suffering
coalesce - verb fuse or cause to grow together; mix together different elements
cognate - adj. having the same ancestral language; related by blood; related in nature; noun a word is cognate with another if both derive from the same word in an ancestral language; one related by blood or origin; especially on sharing an ancestor with another
commensurate - adj. corresponding in size or degree or extent
complement - noun something added to complete or make perfect;either of two parts that mutually complete each other; a word or phrase used to complete a grammatical construction; number needed to make up a whole force; a complete number or quantity;one of a series of enzymes in the blood serum that are part of the immune response; verb make complete or perfect; supply what is wanting or form the complement to
consensus - noun agreement in the judgment or opinion reached by a group as a whole

contretemps - noun an awkward clash
contumacious - adj. wilfully obstinate; stubbornly disobedient
contumelious - adj. arrogantly insolent
convolution - noun the action of coiling or twisting or winding together; a convex fold or elevation in the surface of the brain; the shape of something rotating rapidly
corollary - noun (logic) an inference that follows directly from the proof of another proposition; a practical consequence that follows naturally
cul de sac - noun a street with only one way in or out; a passage with access only at one end
cull - noun the person or thing that is rejected or set aside as inferior in quality; verb remove something that has been rejected;look for and gather
curmudgeon - noun a crusty irascible cantankerous old person full of stubborn ideas
dank - adj. unpleasantly cool and humid
debauch - noun a wild gathering involving excessive drinking and promiscuity; verb corrupt morally or by intemperance or sensuality
de facto - (noun) in fact; in reality
depredation - (noun) an act of plundering and pillaging and marauding; (usually plural) a destructive action
derring-do - noun brave and heroic deeds
diaphanous - adj. so thin as to transmit light
dichotomy - noun being twofold; a classification into two opposed parts or subclasses
dictum - noun an authoritative declaration; an opinion voiced by a judge on a point of law not directly bearing on the case in question and therefore not binding
didactic - adj. instructive (especially excessively)
disingenuous - adj. not straightforward or candid; giving a false appearance of frankness
disparate - adj. including markedly dissimilar elements;fundamentally different or distinct in quality or kind
disparity - noun inequality or difference in some respect

dissimulate - verb hide (feelings) from other people
divination - noun the art or gift of prophecy (or the pretense of prophecy) by supernatural means; successful conjecture by unusual insight or good luck; a prediction uttered under divine inspiration

dogmatic - adj. characterized by assertion of unproved or unprovable principles; relating to or involving dogma; of or pertaining to or characteristic of a doctrine or code of beliefs accepted as authoritative
eclat - noun brilliant or conspicuous success or effect; ceremonial elegance and splendor; enthusiastic approval
ecumenical - adj. of worldwide scope or applicability; concerned with promoting unity among churches or religions

effusive - adj. extravagantly demonstrative; uttered with unrestrained enthusiasm
elixir - noun a substance believed to cure all ills; a sweet flavored liquid (usually containing a small amount of alcohol) used in compounding medicines to be taken by mouth in order to mask an unpleasant taste; a hypothetical substance that the alchemists believed to be capable of changing base metals into gold
emolument - noun compensation received by virtue of holding an office or having employment (usually in the form of wages or fees)

empathy - (noun) understanding and entering into another's feelings 
empirical - adj. derived from experiment and observation rather than theory; relying on medical quackery
ensconce - verb fix firmly

euphoria - noun a feeling of great (usually exaggerated) elation

exculpate - verb pronounce not guilty of criminal charges
expound - verb add details, as to an account or idea; clarify the meaning of and discourse in a learned way, usually in writing; state
factionalism. noun refers to arguments or disputes among two or more small groups within a larger group 
fastidious - adj. giving careful attention to detail; hard to please; excessively concerned with cleanliness; having complicated nutritional requirements; especially growing only in special artificial cultures
faux pas - noun social mishap, party foul
fervid - adj. extremely hot; characterized by intense emotion
fetid - adj. offensively malodorous

flamboyant - adj. richly and brilliantly colorful; elaborately or excessively ornamented; noun showy tropical tree or shrub native to Madagascar; widely planted in tropical regions for its immense racemes of scarlet and orange flowers; sometimes placed in genus Poinciana
folderol - noun nonsensical talk or writing
foray - noun an initial attempt (especially outside your usual areas of competence); a sudden short attack; verb briefly enter enemy territory; steal goods; take as spoils

fulminate - noun a salt or ester of fulminic acid; verb cause to explode violently and with loud noise; come on suddenly and intensely; criticize severely
fulsome - adj. unpleasantly and excessively suave or ingratiating in manner or speech

fustian - noun a strong cotton and linen fabric with a slight nap;pompous or pretentious talk or writing
gambol - noun gay or light-hearted recreational activity for diversion or amusement; verb play boisterously
gargantuan - adj. of great mass; huge and bulky
gamut - noun a complete extent or range: "a face that expressed a gamut of emotions"; the entire scale of musical notes

gothic - adj. characterized by gloom and mystery and the grotesque; of or relating to the Goths; of or relating to the language of the ancient Goths;characteristic of the style of type commonly used for printing German; as if belonging to the Middle Ages; old-fashioned and unenlightened; noun a style of architecture developed in northern France that spread throughout Europe between the 12th and 16th centuries; characterized by slender vertical piers and counterbalancing buttresses and by vaulting and pointed arches; a heavy typeface in use from 15th to 18th centuries; extinct East Germanic language of the ancient Goths; the only surviving record being fragments of a 4th-century translation of the Bible by Bishop Ulfilas
genre - noun a class of art (or artistic endeavor) having a characteristic form or technique; a kind of literary or artistic work; an expressive style of music; a style of expressing yourself in writing

harbinger - (noun) an indication of the approach of something or someone; verb foreshadow or presage
hauteur - noun overbearing pride evidenced by a superior manner toward inferiors
hedonism - (noun) an ethical system that evaluates the pursuit of pleasure as the highest good; the pursuit of pleasure as a matter of ethical principle
heyday - noun the period of greatest prosperity or productivity
hoi polloi - noun the common people, the massesineffable - adj. too sacred to be uttered; defying expression or description
homily - noun a sermon on a moral or religious topic
iconoclastic - adj. destructive of images used in religious worship; said of religions, such as Islam, in which the representation of living things is prohibited;characterized by attack on established beliefs or institutions
imbue - verb suffuse with color; fill, soak, or imbue totally; spread or diffuse through

immaculate - adj. completely neat and clean; free from stain or blemish; without fault or error

immolate - verb offer as a sacrifice by killing or by giving up to destruction
immure - verb lock up or confine, in or as in a jail

impasse - noun a street with only one way in or out; a situation in which no progress can be made or no advancement is possible
imperceptible - adj. impossible or difficult to perceive by the mind or senses

imprecation - noun the act of calling down a curse that invokes evil (and usually serves as an insult); a slanderous accusation
inchoate - adj. only partly in existence; imperfectly formed
in medias res - into the middle of things  
incubus - noun a male demon believed to lie on sleeping persons and to have sexual intercourse with sleeping women; someone who depresses or worries others; a situation resembling a terrifying dream

ineluctable - adj. impossible to avoid or evade:"inescapable conclusion"
infrastructure - noun the stock of basic facilities and capital equipment needed for the functioning of a country or area; the basic structure or features of a system or organization

inhibit - verb limit the range or extent of; to put down by force or authority
insouciant - adj. marked by blithe unconcern
internecine - adj. characterized by bloodshed and carnage for both sides; (of conflict) within a group or organization
inveigle - verb influence or urge by gentle urging, caressing, or flattering

jeremiad - noun a long and mournful complaint
kudos - noun an expression of approval and commendation

lackey - noun a male servant (especially a footman); a person who tries to please someone in order to gain a personal advantage

lackluster - (adj.) lacking luster or shine; lacking brilliance or vitality
lagniappe - noun a small gift (especially one given by a merchant to a customer who makes a purchase)
lampoon - noun a composition that imitates somebody's style in a humorous way; verb ridicule with satire

liaison - noun a channel for communication between groups; a usually secretive or illicit sexual relationship

licentious - adj. lacking moral discipline; especially sexually unrestrained
lucubration - noun laborious cogitation; a solemn literary work that is the product of laborious cogitation
lugubrious - adj. excessively mournful
maladroit - adj. doesn't do well under stressful conditions

malcontent - (adj.) discontented as toward authority; noun a person who is discontented or disgusted
malleable - adj. capable of being shaped or bent or drawn out;easily influenced
matrix - noun mold used in the production of phonograph records, type, or other relief surface; the formative tissue at the base of a nail; the body substance in which tissue cells are embedded; a rectangular array of elements (or entries) set out by rows and columns; an enclosure within which something originates or develops (from the Latin for womb)
maudlin - adj. effusively or insincerely emotional
mellifluous - (adj.) pleasing to the ear

mercurial - adj. relating to or containing or caused by mercury;relating to or having characteristics (eloquence, shrewdness, swiftness, thievishness) attributed to the god Mercury; relating to or under the (astrological) influence of the planet Mercury; liable to sudden unpredictable change
metamorphosis - noun a complete change of physical form or substance especially as by magic or witchcraft; the marked and rapid transformation of a larva into an adult that occurs in some animals; a striking change in appearance or character or circumstances

mete - noun a line that indicates a boundary
mnemonic - adj. of or relating to or involved the practice of aiding the memory; noun a device (such as a rhyme or acronym) used to aid recall
modulate - verb vary the frequency, amplitude, phase, or other characteristic of (electromagnetic waves); adjust the pitch, tone, or volume of; change the key of, in music; fix or adjust the time, amount, degree, or rate of; vary the pitch of one's speech
monolithic - adj. characterized by massiveness and rigidity and total uniformity; imposing in size or bulk or solidity

mot juste - noun the approprite word or expression

mystique - noun an aura of heightened value or interest or meaning surrounding a person or thing
nemesis - noun (Greek mythology) the goddess of divine retribution and vengeance; something causes misery or death

nepotism - (noun) favoritism shown to relatives or close friends by those in power (as by giving them jobs)
nihilism - noun a revolutionary doctrine that advocates destruction of the social system for its own sake; complete denial of all established authority and institutions; the delusion that things (or everything, including the self) do not exist; a sense that everything is unreal

non sequitur - a conclusion not based logically on evidence, not based on premise

noxious - adj. injurious to physical or mental health
obloquy - noun state of disgrace resulting from public abuse; a false accusation of an offense or a malicious misrepresentation of someone's words or actions
obsequious - adj. attentive in an ingratiating or servile manner;attempting to win favor from influential people by flattery

opportunist - adj. taking immediate advantage, often unethically, of any circumstance of possible benefit; noun a person who places expediency above principle
opt - verb select as an alternative; choose instead; prefer as an alternative
palliate - verb provide physical relief, as from pain; lessen or to try to lessen the seriousness or extent of

pander - (noun) someone who procures customers for whores (in England they call a pimp a ponce); verb arrange for sexual partners for others; yield (to); give satisfaction to
panache - noun a feathered plume on a helmet; distinctive and stylish elegance
parameter - noun a constant in the equation of a curve that can be varied to yield a family of similar curves; a quantity (such as the mean or variance) that characterizes a statistical population and that can be estimated by calculations from sample data; any factor that defines a system and determines (or limits) its performance
parlous - adj. fraught with danger
patrician - adj. of the hereditary aristocracy or ruling class of ancient Rome or medieval Europe; of honorary nobility in the Byzantine empire; belonging to or characteristic of the nobility or aristocracy; noun a person of refined upbringing and manners; a member of the aristocracy
peccadillo - (noun) a petty misdeed
persona - noun (Jungian psychology) a personal facade that one presents to the world; an actor's portrayal of someone in a play
piece de resistance - (noun) the most noteworthy or prized feature, aspect, event, article, etc., of a series or group; special item or attraction.
philippic - noun a speech of violent denunciation
philistine - adj. of or relating to ancient Philistia or the culture of the Philistines; smug and ignorant and indifferent or hostile to artistic and cultural values; noun a member of an Aegean people who settled ancient Philistia around the 12th century BC; a person who is uninterested in intellectual pursuits
picaresque - adj. involving clever rogues or adventurers especially as in a type of fiction

polemic - adj. of or involving dispute or controversy; noun a controversy (especially over a belief or dogma); a writer who argues in opposition to others (especially in theology)
populous - adj. densely populated
portentous - adj. of momentous or ominous significance; puffed up with vanity; ominously prophetic
prescience - noun the power to foresee the future
probity - noun complete and confirmed integrity; having strong moral principles
prolix - adj. tediously prolonged or tending to speak or write at great length
propitiate - verb make peace with

protege - noun a person who receives support and protection from an influential patron who furthers the protege's career

protocol - noun code of correct conduct; forms of ceremony and etiquette observed by diplomats and heads of state; (computer science) rules determining the format and transmission of data
prototype - noun a standard or typical example
prurient - adj. characterized by lust

punctilio - noun strict observance of formalities; a fine point of etiquette or petty formality
pundit - noun someone who has been admitted to membership in a scholarly field

quagmire - noun a soft wet area of low-lying land that sinks underfoot
queasy - adj. causing or fraught with or showing anxiety; feeling nausea; feeling about to vomit; causing or able to cause nausea
quid pro quo - noun something for something; that which a party receives (or is promised) in return for something he does or gives or promises
quixotic - adj. not sensible about practical matters; unrealistic
raconteur - noun a person skilled in telling anecdotes

remand - (noun) the act of sending an accused person back into custody to await trial (or the continuation of the trial); verb refer (a matter or legal case) to another committee or authority or court for decision; lock up or confine, in or as in a jail
risible - adj. arousing or provoking laughter
sic - adv. intentionally so written (used after a printed word or phrase); verb urge a dog to attack someone
refractory - adj. temporarily unresponsive or not fully responsive to nervous or sexual stimuli; not responding to treatment; stubbornly resistant to authority or control; noun lining consisting of material with a high melting point; used to line the inside walls of a furnace

repartee - noun adroitness and cleverness in reply
resplendent - adj. having great beauty and splendor
sacrosanct - adj. must be kept sacred
salubrious - adj. favorable to health of mind or body; promoting health; healthful
saturnalian - Of unrestrained and intemperate jollity; riotously merry; dissolute.
savoir-faire - noun social skill
sine qua non - something essential, irreplaceable

stigmatize - verb mark with a stigma or stigmata; to accuse or condemn or openly or formally or brand as disgraceful

sub rosa - adv in secret, privately

supervene - verb take place as an additional or unexpected development

sublimate - adj. made pure; noun the product of vaporization of a solid; verb direct energy or urges into useful activities; vaporize and then condense right back again; change or cause to change directly from a solid into a vapor without first melting; remove impurities from, increase the concentration of, and separate through the process of distillation; make more subtle or refined

sycophant - noun a person who tries to please someone in order to gain a personal advantage
symptomatic - adj. relating to or according to or affecting a symptom or symptoms; characteristic or indicative of e.g. a disease
syndrome- (noun) a complex of concurrent things; a pattern of symptoms indicative of some disease
systemic - adj. affecting an entire system

tautology - noun useless repetition; (logic) a statement that is necessarily true
tendentious - adj. having or marked by a strong tendency especially a controversial one
touchstone - noun a basis for comparison; a reference point against which other things can be evaluated
traumatic - adj. psychologically painful; "few experiences are more traumatic than losing a child"; of or relating to a physical injury or wound to the body

truckle - noun a low bed to be slid under a higher bed; verb yield to out of weakness; try to gain favor by cringing or flattering
truncate - adj. terminating abruptly by having or as if having an end or point cut off; verb make shorter as if by cutting off; approximate by ignoring all terms beyond a chosen one; replace a corner by a plane

unconscionable - adj. greatly exceeding bounds of reason or moderation; lacking a conscience
unimpeachable - adj. beyond doubt or reproach; completely acceptable; not open to exception or reproach; free of guilt; not subject to blame
vainglory - noun outspoken conceit
vendetta - noun a feud in which members of the opposing parties murder each other
vestige - noun an indication that something has been present
vicissitude - noun mutability in life or nature (especially successive alternation from one condition to another); a variation in circumstances or fortune at different times in your life or in the development of something
vitiate - verb take away the legal force of or render ineffective; make imperfect; corrupt morally or by intemperance or sensuality
volition - noun the act of making a choice; the capability of conscious choice and decision and intention
volte-face - noun a major change in attitude or principle or point of view
waggish - adj. witty or joking