Vocabulary #2

1. Accountrements- Equipment worn by soldiers along with their clothing. 
The boys dressed themselves, hid their accoutrements, and went off to work.

2. Apogee- The climax.
In movies the best part is the apogee.

3. Apropos- At the right time.
 Suddenly, my quote seems frighteningly apropos.

4. Bicker- To engage in an peevish argument.
 One television station objected, leaving the members of the media to bicker.
 
5. Coalesce- To grow together or into one body.
The two lakes coalesced into one.

6. Contretemps-An embarrassing mischance. 
He caused a minor contretemps by knocking over his drink.

7. Convolution- A rolled up or coiled condition.
Chance does not speak essentially through words nor can it be seen in their convolution.

8. Cull- To choose, select.
The problem of how to cull observations honestly is a constant preoccupation of what you want to do.

9. Disparate- Distinct in kind; essentially different.
He is also pressing forward with plans to gather together his disparate friends.
 

10. Dogmatic- Asserting opinions in a doctrinaire or arrogant manner.
All he's asking is that we be less dogmatic and more pragmatic.
 
11. Licentious- Unrestrained by law or general morality.
The only thing co-opted is the date, which was used to try and entice the pagans from their rather licentious  festivities.
 
12. Mete- To distribute. 
Jeans-clad alchemists mete out grains and hops while kettles boil.

13. Noxious- Harmful.
Noxious material will have a sign to warn you of it.
 
14. Polemic- A controversial argument
I never make work that's polemic, or that has a message.

15. Populous- Full of residents or inhabitants
No other advanced, populous country will see such diversity.

16. Probity- Honesty.
The man is a perfect example of probity.
 
17. Repartee- A quick, witty reply.
I new he was lying because of the repartee.  
 
18. Supervene- To take place or occur as something additional
During the first four days after the accident acute apprehension was felt by the physicians that tetanus might supervene.

19. Truncate- To shorten by cutting off a part; cut short:

Truncate detailed explanations are not very good explanations. 

 

20. Unimpeachable- Impossible to discredit.
 I care not even for the reasonableness and unimpeachable fairness of your social ethics.

Beowulf Comprehension Questions

I am doing this assignment with the help of Javier Solis, Ian Steller, Edmond Yi, and Mia Levy. I read the passage provided and then read my section that I needed to in order to answer my questions.

The Dragon Wakes

1. Part two take place 50 years later. The kings that have died during that time is Hygelac. The danger that now exists is the a dragon.
2.The dragon is angry because a man stole a gem-studded goblet while the dragon was asleep. The man took the cup because he was a slave and was leaving his master. The treasure came to be there from a man who had buried the riches.
3. That night the dragon threatened the night sky with streamers of fire.
4. Beowulf thinks that his home is burnt because some one told him that it was burnt to a cinder. He orders a new shield so that way he can get revenge on the dragon.
5. Hygelac was killed in hand to hand combat in Friesland. When he returned home Beowulf was offered Hygd's throne and he declined it but he helped assist the prince.
6. Hygelac's son Heardred was killed by sons of Ohthere. Beuwulf planed to revenge his friends death by  befriended Eadgils and then killing him.
7. 11 men accompany Beowulf as he goes to kill the dragon.
8. Hygelac's oldest brother Herebeald was killed by Haethcyn from a bow n arrow. This caused Beowulf to kill King Hrethel with his bear hands. After hethrals death the Swedes and Geats Battled and feuded and fought without quarter. Haethcyn died in the battle.

My Opionion Isn't (A) Right

Interdependence-To depend on everybody else.
Right to your own opinion.
     Can try to use it as a defense.
Obligation to respect society.
Related to Pride and Prejudice
     Right to live your way.
Opinion
     Not a fact, How you feel, Choose to share them, Can be a place, I am obligated to tell you to shut up.
Can switch the words to make it go towards you.
Limbic
     Emotional part of the brain.

Vocabulary #1

Adumbrate-Represent in an outline
The ending of the novel is already adumbrated from the first chapters.
Apotheosis-The climax
The apotheosis is when the most action happens in movies. 
 Ascetic-To have self discipline
Monks are the masters when it comes to being ascetic.
Bauble-A tiny trinket
The child was given a bauble for her second birthday.
Beguile-Charm or enchant
The artists in the show were all beguiled by there master.
 Burgeon-To grow rapidly
Business owners want there money to burgeon. 
Complement-Completes or brings to perfection
You must complement your resumee before sending your scholarship out.
Contumacious-Disobedient to authority
Be careful with these kids, there are contumacious. 
Curmudgeon-Bad tempered
The child is known for being curmudgeon. 
Didactic-Intended to instruct
The teacher failed to didactic the students because he doesn't care.
Disingenuous-Not sincere
It is disingenuous if he does not get tried in the United States.
Exculpate-To show that someone is non guilty.
The lawyers job is to exculpate if he is being charged with anything.
Faux pas-An embarrassing act
 The art show was a joke and a faux pas.
Fulminate-Express vehement protest
The group was fulminating during the gathering.
Fustian-Thick cloth usually a dark color
That material is to weak go grab one that is fustian.
Hauteur-Haughtiness of manner
Bob is hauteur.
Inhibit-Restrain or prevent
You must inhibit him if he gets out of control.
Jeremiad-A complaint
The neighbors jeremaided every time there was a party.
Opportunist-Take an opportunity to get an advantage
He is an opportunist.
Unconscionable-Not right or reasonable
The kid made an unconscious decision. 
   

Reflections On Week One

1. No, there is nothing that will keep me from participating in the class. I have all of the materials needed.
2. A learning experienced that changed me was last years English class with Dr. Preston. It changed my learning skills and taught me that technology can be used to communicate in totally different ways. 
3. I am most excited to improve my writing skills and to become more skilled with technology. Learning how to write more will improve my skills for the AP Test.

1987 AP Exam

While taking this exam I found it to be challenging. This is my first time seeing an AP Exam so I expected it to be a challenge. I thought that there were very little easy questions. Most of them seemed to be hard and extremely hard. From this I learned that I need to learn more vocabulary because there are a lot of words on there that were new to me. On the test there were a total of 47 questions and I scored a 26 on it. Which means that I got a 55%. I don't see this as a bad thing, I see it as a chance to work on and improve on what I am going to need for when I take the actual AP Test. 

Question 1.

Old Leisure

     Leisure is simply free time. George Eliot insist that old leisure is gone in the time period she is in. Old leisure in her time is finding an easier way to do things. Direct characterization is one of the ways used to prove her point.

     Everybody uses leisure in different ways. In our time it means free time. In Eliot's time it is being lazy. An example of direct characterization is the invention of the steam engine. This supports Eliot's style of leisure because before steam engines, people had to ride horses and travel during the day. The steam engine made it possible for people to sit in a train and transport bigger things and travel twice as fast. This made people become lazy and they started to use a train just to save time and not do as much work. 

     As you can see, leisure in Eliot's time does mean that you are lazy. This is because people wanted to save time and not work as hard. 

Question 2

Changes

     In Barbara Kingsolver's book The Poisonwood Bible, she modifies how a father should be towards his family. A father should look out for the family and do what is best for them. In The Poisonwood Bible father does just the opposite. He does this through his actions.

     It seems like father in The Poisonwood Bible never really loved his family. That is something that a father should do. An example that shows how Kingsolver modifies how a father should be towards his family is by father's lack of communication. Every time one of his family members tried to talk to him he just got mad and ended the conversation were it was. Another example is when he through his wife to the ground. This is another thing a father should never do and Kingsolver modifies him by making him do that. 

     Kingsolver wants to modify the way a father treats his family. This is done very well in The Poisonwood Bible because he just does that through his actions. He completely cuts them off and wants nothing to do with them.

I do not think that I did very well on these essays because before I new it the 35 minutes were up. I timed myself to see how I would do and I need to improve my time.

Austen/Montaigne Essay

Austen and Montaigne

      David Foster Wallace wrote in "Good Old Neon" that what goes on inside is to fast and huge that when spoken out we only understand a little bit of it. This is because people are not walking in your own shoes. Michel de Montaigne and Jane Austen support this in there writing. 

     Montaigne's techniques support what Wallace is saying above because in "The Essays of Michel de Montaigne" Montaigne is writing about how things should be from his perspective. Throughout the book Montaigne is writing about the past and the present and how people should treat other people. An example is friendship. This is coming from inside of him and we do not know if that is just touching his thoughts or all he has to say.

      Montaigne's style provides a window into his thinking because he wants us to understand how he thinks life should be. An example is when he talks about lying and if your going to lie don't say anything at all. This supports Montaigne's thinking because he is thinking about a better world and not lying will make it better. 

     Austen's technique also supports what Wallace wrote because in "Pride and Prejudice" many of the characters say things that other characters do not understand. An example is when Bingley says he has feelings for Jane. This is good because it was only a little bit of his true feelings. He never truly liked Jane because Bingley ended up marring Georgina. 

     Austen's style provides a window into her thinking because she is wanting us to develop feeling for the characters. An example is all of the love and marring in the book. All of the sisters find the one and it makes us want to feel happy for them and forget what they did in their past.

      Austen and Montaigne support what Wallace is trying to say because in there writing they are both leaving something unspoken. They want us to think about what is truly being said because we will only understand a little bit of it and need to dig deeper.

Poetry #1

 The Laughing Heart by Charles Bukowski

1. The author of this poem is Charles Bukowski and the title of the poem is The Laughing Heart.
2. This is considered ironic because it is talking about pants that you wear and how you need to enjoy life. The two do not go together.
3. No, the poem does not reflect the reputation of the author because Bukowski was a drunk and the poem is about living your life to the fullest.
4. I found the answers to number one and three by using the internet. I went to google and typed Levis Go Forth to find out who the author was for number one. I found the answer to number two by doing the same thing but typing in Charles Bukowki Timeline so that way I could see what happened in his life to determine the type of man he was.

Here is a copy of the poem.

your life is your life
don’t let it be clubbed into dank submission.
be on the watch.
there are ways out.
there is a light somewhere.
it may not be much light but
it beats the darkness.
be on the watch.
the gods will offer you chances.
know them.
take them.
you can’t beat death but
you can beat death in life, sometimes.
and the more often you learn to do it,
the more light there will be.
your life is your life.
know it while you have it.
you are marvelous
the gods wait to delight
in you.

Essay #1

The Poisonwood Bible

     In The Poisonwood Bible by Barbara Kingsolver, Barbara has a character named Orleanna. Orleanna is a strong mother who must watch her four children in the Congo. In the beginning Orleanna is excited for the trip but soon becomes exiled from the United States. This causes her to become alienated and enriching. 

     Orleanna's time in the Congo is good but then becomes to much for her to handle. She is overwhelmed from everything going on and wants to return to the United States. Unfortunately, Orleanna is exiled by her husband. She is exiled by her husband because he forbids her and the children to return to the United States. Nathan claims that it is God's plan for them to stay there. Another example as to why she is exiled from the United States is because Nathan also uses hostile actions towards Orleanna when she wants to leave. Orleanna tried again to ask to go home but when she did Nathan got angry and threw her to the ground. 

     While in the Congo Orleanna becomes alienated from her family and the villagers were she is living. This is because of the bad news she has just received. She has received news that they may stay there longer than intended to and do not know when they will be returning home. This causes Orleanna to alienate herself from everyone and stay in bed for days.

     Being isolated from the United States was not all bad for Orleanna. It was also enriching. It was enriching for Orleanna because she learned to stand up for herself and take charge. An example is when she gets out of bed and tells the girls that they are going to leave the Congo. They gather what they can carry and go. This shows that Orleanna has courage because she is going without her husbands approval.

     Being exiled from home can cause people to loose it. Orleanna experienced this in The Poisonwood Bible and it was an alienating experience. It was also enriching for her as well because she learned to live on her own and take charge of what she is doing.