Lit Analysis #3

   In life, every person’s behavior is different depending on who is in their presence.  This is inescapable, even if it is a simple difference of thought when associating with different types of people.  In the case for some Chinese-Americans, the conflict of having to choose between the characteristics of the heritage and the characteristics of their illustration of a normal American in order to fit in can be a difficult conflict to overcome and deal with. 
           Genuineness is one of the greatest attributes one can possess.  The ability to remain consistently authentic is something that can only be mastered through confidence and being comfortable with whom you are.  In the perspective of a Chinese-American, one of the most difficult tasks possible is to keep their pride with also trying to fit in. American society can give the impression some people who appear different that they are aliens and can only be accepted if they change to become less different from them.  A shallow or insecure person would try to transform and be accepted. Others who are stronger would rather value who they are even if it means having a low quantity of associates.

            Individuals will never be able to be able to approach situations in life in the potentially best way possible when the have to deceive themselves and others in order to create a mental artificial comfort that shuns reality.  Being real with oneself is always necessary in the pursuit of becoming the best version of yourself.  Without confidence and an open mind, one can never accomplish anything of significance in the same quality as if they would if they possessed that mentality.  In the perspective of a Chinese-American, although acceptance might feel satisfying to some degree, they would never be exempted of the grotesque weights of insecurity and low self-esteem and self-confidence because they would only be receiving an artificial experience that is untrue to oneself.

            Perspective is everything in life.  It is our reception of things and determines how we interpret and apply them into our own lives to make us intellectually wiser.   Several things can alter the clarity of our outlook such as ignorance and interpersonal conflicts such as the inability to comfortable with who we are and using that to relay a positive and confident outlook on life in order to remain genuine and restrain ourselves from deceiving ourselves which can be proven to be one of the most dangerous yet common blindfolds placed over our eyes by society.

Diction Worksheets

1. An example of low or informal diction is, "...I only climbed on the spare spar and leaned over the rail as far as I could, to bring my eyes nearer to that mystery floating alongside."

2. Words & Definitions
-Opaque: not able to be seen through
-Elongated: unusually long in relation to its width.
-Phosphorescent: something glows with light without becoming hot to the touch
-Elusive: difficult to find, catch, or achieve.
-Immersed: dip or submerge in a liquid
-Cadaverous: resembling a corpse in being very pale, thin, or bony
-Ghastly: causing great horror or fear; frightful or macabre

Paraphrasing the paragraph:

The side of the ship made a hazy belt of shadow on the darkling glassy shimmer of the sea. I saw at once something extended and pale floating very close to the ladder. Before i could form a guess a faint flash of shimmering light, which seemed to issue suddenly from the naked body of a man, flickered in the sleeping water with the intangible, silent play of summer lighting in a night sky. With a gasp I saw revealed to my stare a pair of feet, the long legs, a broad livid back shot right up to my neck in a greenish cadaverous glow. As he hung by the ladder, like a resting swimmer, the sea lighting played about his limbs at every stir, and he appeared in it terrible, silvery, fishlike.

3. The elevated language contributes to the tone to make it sound more formal and more mysterious. Paraphrasing the passage affects the tone in a casual way. It sounds less formal and when reading the passage, it's not as intriguing as reading elevated words since it makes it sound better.

4. 4 examples of concrete diction in the passage are:
- phosphorescent light
-opaque belt of shadow
- a board livid back immersed right up to the neck in a greenish cadaverous glow.
- a headless corpse

5. The author chose to leave the captain, the ship, and the crew nameless in the story because he wanted the readers to still keep thinking and being in a way clueless as to who was being described. The elevated words are the ones which unveil what the objects are and how they look like.

6. The denotative meaning of the title The Secret Sharer is of a person who talks about their side that other people don't see, which is dark.

Word

Denotation

Connotation

Cadaverous

resembling a corpse in being very pale, thin, or bony

Body

Darkling

of or relating to growing darkness.

Darkness

Pale

light in color or having little color.

White

Phosphorescence

something glows with light without becoming hot to the touch

Flashy

Ghastly

causing great horror or fear; frightful or macabre

Scared

Headless

having no head

No mind

Fishlike

a characteristic of a fish

Literature Analysis 2

Part 1: The climax of this novel is when Gatsby takes on Thomas. Another possibility for the climax could be at the dinner. Also, it could be when Daisy rejects Gatsby. The exposition of this novel is when Nick rents a house in West Egg and meets Gatsby.

Part 2: The main theme of this novel has to do with wealth. Fitzgerald addresses this by portraying the newly rich as being vulgar. He wrote about this to show differences of the wealth classes. He did this because at the time their was a decline in the american dream.

Part 3: The protagonist was Gatsby. He was not a dynamic character because he remained the same throughout the novel. Another major character is Nick Carraway. He is important to this novel because he is the narrator, so the story is told through him.

Part 4: A significant motif from this novel would be the geography. This symbol functions to show that it took place in a wealthy area and it also showed various aspects of the 1920's. This reveals that the characters were wealthy and connects with the theme.

Part 5: I chose this book because it was suggested to me by a friend. It came to my attention because my friend summarized the novel and make it sound interesting. The fascinating aspects of aristocracy in the 1920's kept me intrigued and want to continue reading. Also, Gatsby's character kept the book interesting to keep up with him and the events that occurred.

Part 6: I'm not sure I can make much connections to this novel because I'm not familiar with much aristocracy. One of the aspects that I can connect between the novel and my life is seeing rejection based on the social class that one is in.

Part 7: One idea that i expect to remember for a long time from this book is that wealth doesn't always get you what you want. This was my choice because it is important to realize that wealth doesn't necessarily mean happiness and to be happy with what you have. This book teaches multiple things like aristocracy in the 1920's, different wealth classes, and how life was in rich areas.

Antigone quick write

First of all, I would attempt to take my parents back to the machine and try to fix them to how they were before. If this was able to happen I would have my parents arrange a dinner and invite our uncle over and poison his food so my parents could regain control. This event would most likely not occur but it is worth a shot. Secondly, I would try to convince my sister and tell her to stand up for what she believes in and lie and say that since our uncle is the king he wouldn’t sentence us to the death penalty. In order to start convincing her I would tell her to do small crimes that she could get away with first to build her confidence and not be as scared.

Jonathan Safran Foer Webinar Reaction Assignment

Category: Persuasive, informative

Name of the presenter: Jonathan Safran Foer

Title of the Video: Jonathan Safran Foer Webinar

Date Accessed: October 28, 2014

Descriptions of three stand-out moments from the video, and why you chose them.

One of the standout moments that I found important and educational was when Safran Foer addressed the fact that there are 50 billion animals factory farmed each year. This is a sad case but informs what most people aren’t aware of. This extremely large number should be taken into perspective because of the amount of animals being affected.

A standout moment from his book that I found to be intriguing was that three to four million dogs and cats are euthanized annually. I am against this, but he makes a strong case about all the meat that is being thrown away from these animals. It is important to note that millions of pounds of meat are put to waste because it is socially unacceptable to eat these household pets with emotional attachment.

The final moment was his statement that there is no chance that half of Americans will be vegetarians in 10 years. I believe this is important because it shows that most of the people in America are unaware of the negative factors that are caused by the meat industry and the harm it has been doing. This is a serious topic that more people should be informed about.

Latin Roots #5

Roots and Derivatives

1. cent(i)- hundred
2. cid(e)- cut, kill
3. clam, claim- cry out, declare
4. cord, cour- heart

Word List

1. bicentennial- A celebration of a 200th anniversary; a happening once in a period of 200 years or lasting 200 years
2. centenarian-  a person who has lived to be 100 years old
   
3. centurion- a Roman officer commanding one hundred men; related to the military mind, especially as it favors military solutions for handling social prpblems
4. clamorous- characterized by continuous loud and complaining voices; noisily complaining; insistent
5. concise- covering much in few words; brief and to the point
6. concordance- a condition of harmony or agreement; an alphabetical index indicating reference passages, as form a writers works
7. cordial- of the heart; warm and friendly; amiable
8. discordant- sounding harsh or inharmonious; clashing
9. genocide- the systematic extermination of an ethnic group
10. incisive- keenly penetrating; cutting into
11. proclamation- an official statement or announcement that informs or honors 
12. reclaim- to claim again; to restore to former importance or usefulness

Latin Roots #4

Roots and Derivatives

bon, boun (good): bonus, bounty, bountiful, bonify, boon, bon voyage, bonhomie
capit, capt(head, chief, leader):capital, captain, capitalize, decapitate, per capita, capitol
carn(i) (flesh): carnal, carnality, carnival, carnation, carnify
ced(e), ceed, cess (go, yield, surrender): recede, proceed, success, concede, exceed, procession, unprecedented

Word List

accession- the attainment of a certain rank or dignity; an increase by means of something added; the act of becoming joined.

Sentence: In Buddhism, the accession was to reach enlightenment.

bona fide- In good faith: genuine.

Sentence: The painting was bona fide

bonanza- a sudden and unexpected source of money or riches: a windfall

Sentence: Winning the lottery gets you a bonanza.

bounteous-inclined to be generous; plentiful and abundant

Sentence: Our water supply is not bounteous at the moment.

capitulation-a surrendering, usually upon prearranged terms or conditions: a final giving up

Sentence: Japan made a capitulation after being bombed.

carnage- a great slaughter, as in battle

Sentence: The war left behind a carnage.

carnivorous- flesh eating, as an animal

Sentence: A lot of dinosaurs were carnivorous animals

incarnate-literally, in the flesh: in bodily form: personified: flesh-colored

Sentence: The girl looked naked because she had an incarnate dress on.

intercede- to act on another's behalf: to mediate

Sentence: The boy's mother interceded when her son was falsely accused.

precedent-a previous act or decision taken as a valid model; having gone before

Sentence:  The father was a precedent to his son.

recapitulation- a brief repetition; a summary, as of what has already been said

Sentence: College students need a recapitulation of every class lesson.

reincarnation- a thing that is reborn, or comes back into being, although perhaps in a different (bodily) form.

Sentence: Buddhists believed in reincarnation.