Literature Analysis #2

1. I chose the novel Invisible Man by Ralph Ellison as my second AP source. The story is about an African American man and his adversities that lead him to where and who he is now. The story takes place in the 1920's in the south. Gifted with writing and public speaking the main character gets the chance to give a speech early in his youth and goes on to win a scholarship for college. While at college he is placed in charge of driving Mr. Norton, a wealthy white trustee at the college. One day Mr. Norton happens to overhear word on Jim Trueblood, an uneducated African American man who impregnated his own daughter. After hearing this news Mr. Norton retreats to the Golden day were we finds relief in a drink. Word of this incident spreads to the colleges president who in turn expels the narrator. The narrator moves to Harlem where he gets a job. Things are looking up for the narrator, until he gets hurt on the job and looses consciousness. Fortunately he recovers and soon after joins a group called the Brotherhood, headed by Brother Jack.Again things take a turn for the worse and the brotherhood begins to question the narrators motives in being part of the organization. In fear the narrator disguises himself and hides from the brotherhood. Finally the narrator returns home to a riot and falls into a hole in the street. In an attempt to kill the narrator the police surround the hole. The narrator explains that he was lived in that hole since that day. This last accident causes the narrator to look back on things and gives him the motivation to what he wants and tell his story of life. By telling his story the narrator finally finds the strength within himself to come out of the whole because he stayed true to himself. 
2. The main theme of the novel is the courage to stay true to who you are. In the narrators case he was an African American man living in the south in the 1920's those were hard times and it was tempting for him to take the easy way out of things and accept the poor treatment towards blacks. But it was harder to speak out about the cruelty and make a change. It was a struggle he had to overcome in order to face himself and others. 
3. Some people might view the narrator's tone as cross or dreary, because of his constant reflection on the racism at the time and his many struggles. But I see it more as honesty and thoughtfulness. 
“What and how much had I lost by trying to do only what was expected of me instead of what I myself had wished to do?” 
“I am invisible, understand, simply because people refuse to see me. Like the bodiless heads you see sometimes in circus sideshows, it is as though I have been surrounded by mirrors of hard, distorting glass. When they approach me they see only my surroundings, themselves or figments of their imagination, indeed, everything and anything except me.” 
“The world is a possibility if only you'll discover it.”
4.Literary Devices:
-symbolism
-setting
-tone
-theme
-figurative language
-allusions
-diction
-imagery
-allegory
-point of view

“What and how much had I lost by trying to do only what was expected of me instead of what I myself had wished to do?” 
“I am invisible, understand, simply because people refuse to see me. Like the bodiless heads you see sometimes in circus sideshows, it is as though I have been surrounded by mirrors of hard, distorting glass. When they approach me they see only my surroundings, themselves or figments of their imagination, indeed, everything and anything except me.” 
“The world is a possibility if only you'll discover it.”
“Life is to be lived, not controlled; and humanity is won by continuing to play in face of certain defeat.” 
 “I was never more hated than when I tried to be honest. Or when, even as just now I've tried to articulate exactly what I felt to be the truth. No one was satisfied” 
“And my problem was that I always tried to go in everyone's way but my own.” 
“Perhaps to lose a sense of where you are implies the danger of losing a sense of who you are.”
“I remember that I'm invisible and walk softly so as not awake the sleeping ones. Sometimes it is best not to awaken them; there are few things in the world as dangerous as sleepwalkers.” 
“Like the bodiless heads you see sometimes in circus sideshows, it is as though I have been surrounded by mirrors of hard, distorting glass. When they approach me they see only my surroundings, themselves, or figments of their imagination—indeed, everything and anything except me.” 
“The truth is the light and the light is the truth.
“Please, a definition: A hibernation is a covert preparation for a more overt action.” 
“Power doesn't have to show off. Power is confident, self-assuring, self-starting and self-stopping, self-warming and self-justifying. When you have it, you know it.”
“I'd like to hear five recordings of Louis Armstrong playing and singing "What Did I Do to Be so Black and Blue"-all at the same time. Sometimes now I listen to Louis while I have my favorite dessert of vanilla ice cream and sloe gin. I pour the red liquid over the white mound, watching it glisten and the vapor rising as Louis bends that military instrument into a beam of lyrical sound.” 
“I felt that even when they were polite they hardly saw me, that they would have begged the pardon of Jack the Bear, never glancing his way if the bear happened to be walking along minding his business. It was confusing. I did not know if it was desirable or undesirable...” 

Characterization
1. The narrator describes his thoughts and actions the entire story, therefore he is always using direct characterization.
2.I did not observe much change in the author's tone when discussing characters mainly because the author writes through the main character describing his thoughts and feelings, which are pretty constant
3. The main character is definitely dynamic because he struggles with being himself and being conformed by the racist outlook, he is also a round character because he has so many qualities.
4.After reading this novel I have come away feeling like a have met the man not read a story about him as a character. 

Tools That Change The Way We Think

Extensive Internet/media/technology use have changed the way we think dramatically. In all acts of life new technology is involved and is using its influentual power, good and bad. Whether your trying to write an essay for english and are researching the topic or trying to decided what resturaunt to eat at for lunch and are looking up reviews on the internet, techonolgy is being used. I can't recall a time I haven't been able to solve a problem and not then resorted the internet for help. With the internet, facebook, twitter, youtube and all other sources right at our fingertips we often mis use them. New technology has benifited us and hurt us. We have become depended upon it and in my opinion would be unable to function with out it.

Notes on Hamlet

Since I have begun reading the play has evolved emensely. Hamlet's character and emotions have taken a turn for the worse. The more I read the more pity I have for Hamlet and his situation. The plot is becoming more and more complex and the conflicts are becoming numerous. Since the ghost has shown up Hamlet, is changed his sorrow has somewhat turned to anger and respentment. He no longer cares about the relationship with him and Ophelia or his mother and his uncle, but is completely devoted to seeking revenge for is father. Things can only get worse from here, I see Hamlet going crazy with grief and anger.

Who Was Shakespeare?

Shakespeare was an english poet and play writer. Born in the 1500's, he was the third child born to John Shakespeare and his wife Mary Arden. His father was a very sucessful man, he was a landowner, merchant, artison, and even involved in Englands polictics. At the age of 18 William married a woman named Anne Hathaway. They had three children together, sadly their son, Hamnet was lost to the plague. During his lifetime, William, wrote a total of 36 plays and 154 sonnets. Shakespeare died at the age of 52 in 1616.

http://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/537853/William-Shakespeare
http://www.online-literature.com/shakespeare/
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/William_Shakespeare

To Facebook or Not to Facebook

My first impression of Facebook was less than excited. Myspace had already been around awhile by the time Facebook became popular with kids so I honestly didn't think much of it. Once I joined Facebook I found it a lot easier to navigate than Myspace was and eventual preferred it over other social media sites. I still use Facebook to this day and find it very helpful. However after reading the article "Why Facebook is After Your Kids" I have a new outlook on Facebook and the way it operates. What the article basically says is that Facebook takes the information from your account and seals it to different companies in order it target you as a consumer. One of my dad's favorite sayings is "Nothing is free in life, everything comes with a price" , in which this is a perfect example. You can enjoy the benefits and entertainment of social media sites like Facebook, but do be aware that in return they are taking your information from our life and giving it to complete strangers. Ask yourself .. Is it worth it?

Vocabulary List 9 Remix

Traumatic: emotionally disturbing or distressing; relating to or causing psychological trauma

Touchstone: a standard or criterion by which something is judged or recognized 

Saturnalia: the ancient Roman festival of Saturn in December; an occasion of wild revelry

Quid pro quo: a favor or advantage granted in return for something

Prescience: the power to foresee the future

Abortive: failing to produce the intended result

Internecine: destructive to both sides in a conflict

Maladroit: ineffective or bungling; clumsy

Maudlin: self-pitying or tearfully sentimental, often through drunkenness 

Modulate: exert a modifying or controlling influence on

Portentous: of or like a portent; done in a pompously or overly solemn manner

Bruit: spread a report or rumor widely

Dictum: a formal pronouncement from an authoritative source; a short statement that expresses a general truth or principle

Ensconce: establish or settle

Iconoclastic: characterized by attack on established beliefs or institutions 

In medias res: a narrative that begins somewhere in the middle of a story rather than the beginning 

Contumelious: scornful and insulting behavior

Salubrious: health-giving, healthy; pleasant, not run-down

Vitiate: spoil or impair the quality or efficiency of; destroy or impair the legal validity of.

Waggish: humorous in a playful, mischievous, or facetious manner

Midterm Autopsy

I did not take the Midterm due to an illness.

Hamlet Remix

Vocabulary List 8

Abeyance-(N.) A state of temporary disuse or suspension.
Between each scene there is always a moment of abeyance.
Ambivalent- (Adj.) Having mixed feelings or contradictory ideas about something or someone.
Lord Polonius is ambivalent towards Hamlet.
Beleaguer- (V.) Beset with difficulties
Hamlet beleaguer.
Carte blanche- (N.) Complete freedom to act as one wishes or thinks best.
Laertes can enjoy carte blanche while Hamlet must stay at home and obey his parents.
Cataclysm- (N.) A sudden violent upheaval, esp. in a political or social context
There hasn't been any signs of an upcoming catclysm in the play.
Debauch- (V.) Destroy or debase the moral purity of; corrupt.
(N.) A bout of excessive indulgence in sensual pleasures, esp. eating and drinking
Claudius only goal in all this must be to debaunch the kingdom.
éclat- (N.) brilliant or conspicuous success
Claudius has had an eclat outcoming.
Fastidious- (Adj.) Very attentive to and concerned about accuracy and detail
Hamlet fastidiously listened to the ghost of his father speak.
Gambol- (V.) Run or jump about playfully
I imagine Claudius gamboling at the sight of Hamlet's dead dad.
Imbue- (V.) Inspire or permeate with a feeling or quality: "imbued with deep piety".
Hamlet was imbued with deep sorrow for his father's murder.
Inchoate- (Adj.) Just begun and so not fully formed or developed
The play has inchoately relationships with the characters.
Lampoon- (V.) Publicly criticize (someone or something) by using ridicule or sarcasm.
(N.) A speech or text criticizing someone or something in this way
Hamlet often lampoons his mother's actions.
Malleable- (Adj.) Easily influenced; pliable
Hamlet is extremely malleable in his feelings.
Nemesis- (N.) The inescapable or implacable agent of someone's or something's downfall
Hamlet's nemesis is his uncle Claudius.
Opt- (V.) Make a choice from a range of possibilities
Hopefully Hamlet will opt to not take revenge on his uncle.
Philistine- (N.) A person who is hostile or indifferent to culture and the arts, or who has no understanding of them
I'm not sure who would be an example of a philistine in the play.
Picaresque- (Adj.) Of or relating to an episodic style of fiction dealing with the adventures of a rough and dishonest but appealing hero
Hamlet is a picaresque play.
Queasy- (Adj.) Nauseated; feeling sick
The idea that Hamlet's uncle is now step dad makes me queasy.
Refractory- (Adj.) Stubborn or unmanageable
Ophelia is refractory in her feelings for Hamlet.
Savoir-faire- (N.) The ability to act or speak appropriately in social situations.
Claudius obtains savior-faire.

Midterm Review Strategies

Valerie Gonzalez and I are preparing for the Midterm this friday by studying the first 70 terms tonight; taking notes on them, coming up with fun and easy ways to remember them, and reviewing them on tuesday. Then doing the next 70 tomorrow night and going over those on wednesday. Leaving all thursday for us to review and look over our notes.