LIT ANALYSIS

1. The novel is told from the perspective from the caretaker of an older house to a man looking to buy this house. The story is about the family that used to live in the house, they were a rich family with a caring father who took in a dirty and grimy orphan named Heathcliff. The father dies soon after bringing him home and the rest of the family is mean to him (with one exception) with includes both physical and mental abuse. The one exception is Cathy, his adopted sister, he eventually falls in love with her and is emotionally destroyed when she marries another man. Cathy dies in childbirth and Heathcliff never leaves the property and is always haunted with guilt about Cathy and hatred for most everyone else.

2. The theme of this novel is how differences in social status, patriarchal discrimination, and abuse can cause bitterness and remorse.

3. The author's tone conveys bitterness and remorse. Throughout the novel she uses her characters to express different emotions.

Ex 1: "You loved me- what right had you to leave me? What right- answer me- for the poor fancy you felt for Linton? Because misery, and degradation, and death, and nothing that God or Satan could inflict would have parted us, you, of your own will did it. I have not broken your heart- you have broken it; and in breaking it, you have broken mine. So much the worse for me that I am strong. Do I want to live? What kind of living will it be when you- Oh, God! Would you like to lie with your soul in the grave?"

Bronte uses Heathcliffe's anger to portray his bitterness.

Ex 2: "'I'm tired with my journey, and I want to go to bed! Where is the maid-servant? Direct me to her, as she won't come to me.'
'We have none,' he answered, 'you must wait on yourself!'
'Where must I sleep, then?' I sobbed..."

Bronte uses this quote to show how social classes can cause discrepancies.

Ex 3: "He took to Heathcliff strangely, believing all he said... and petting him up far above Cathy, who was too mischieveous and wayward for a favourite."

Bronte uses this quote to show the patriarchal differences and how Cathy was portrayed as a weak character throughout the novel.

ALL OF THE ABOVE

I scored a 32 out of 67 which I am pretty happy about, last year on the AP test my weakness was the multiple choice section and my essays really picked up the slack to receive a four on that test. I know I can improve exponentially on this portion but I am overall pretty happy with my results. Most of the questions that I got wrong were grammar related because I think that's my weakest area of English. I definitely need to improve on the technical aspects of my reading and writing.

VOCAB #4

accolade (n)- a privilege or award based on merit
Ex: Kevin Durant's accolades include the Rookie of the Year and the NBA scoring title.

acerbity (adj)- sharp or bitter speech
Ex: When asked why his team lost the Finals, Kevin Durant responded with acerbity.

attrition (n)- action of reducing someone's strength
Ex: Kevin Durant's offensive style is a patient one, he utilizes attrition to break down his opponents.

bromide (n)- a trite or unoriginal remark intended to sooth
Ex: After a loss Durant hates bromides, they just make him angry even if they are said with good intentions.

chauvinist (n)- someone with aggressive or excessive patriotism
Ex: Kevin Durant's teammate has red white and blue underwear that he never takes off, he is a chauvinist.

chronic (adj)- persisting or recurring for a long time
Ex: Kevin Durant has a chronic habit of scoring more than 30 points a game.

expound (v)- present systematically or in detail
Ex: Even though Kevin expounded his idea, the NBA decided not to make it against the rules to guard him.

factionalism (v)- splitting a group into 2 factions
Ex: Kevin Durant displays factionalism when he splits the zone defense in two without effort.

immaculate (adj)- only possible through divine intervention
Ex: Kevin Durant's game winning shot against the Mavericks can only be described as immaculate.

imprecation (n)- a spoken curse
Ex: Even though the creepy old lady chanted an imprecation, Kevin Durant's team still won the game.

ineluctable (adj)- unable to be resisted or avoided
Ex: It is ineluctable that Kevin Durant will score at least 30 points in a given game.

mercurial (adj)- subject to sudden mood or mind changes
Ex: Kevin Durant's mercurial aunt sometimes roots for his team and other times wants them to lose.

palliate (v)- to make less severe/unpleasant without uprooting the cause
Ex: When you stop the other four players from scoring, your defense palliates the Thunder.

protocol (n)- necessary/mandatory in a workplace
Ex: It is protocol to wear basketball shorts during a game for Kevin Durant.

resplendent (adj)- attractive through rich color
Ex: Kevin Durant's new neon orange shoes are very resplendent.

stigmatize (v)- to describe as worthy of disgrace or disapproval
Ex: The Miami Heat's attempts to guard Kevin Durant were stigmatized by everyone in the media.

sub rosa (adj/adv) done in secret
Ex: The idea to vote Lebron as MVP instead of Kevin Durant was done in sub rosa.

vainglory (n)- extreme vanity, excessive pride in one's accomplishments
Ex: Even though he is the best player ever in existence, Kevin Durant isn't a vainglory

vestige (n)- a trace of something that doesn't exist anymore
Ex: I found a thread of Kevin Durant's Texas University jersey, it turned out to be a vestige.

volition (n)- the faculty or power of using one's will
Ex: Kevin Durant's ability can be described as a volition.

BEOWULF ESSAY

Jacob Fowler

Period 5

Beowulf Essay

                Our culture is one of change; our lives are completely different than they were just five years ago. That being said, our values and morals parallel those of the Danish people during the Dark Ages. We still share our basic human nature and it is human nature to search for a hero; we all want to know that where our capabilities end there will be someone with the strength to protect us. Whether a fictional character or an actual role model, our quest cannot be quenched until we find our hero. Centuries ago, in the Middle Ages, the Danish other Europeans found their hero in Beowulf; the twenty-first century finds theirs in Thor. And although Thor is a Norse god that has been “Hollywoodized” and although he is just one of the dozens of superheroes in circulation, he is the perfect example of the twenty-first century hero.

The most defining feature in both of these heroes is their pride, both are extremely confident in their own abilities; they find their courage within themselves. Beowulf shows his ego as he strips down and fights his enemy in the nude, although this might be conceived as cockiness, the original text seems to indicate that really he came to depend on himself and God rather than the primitive technology of the day. It was important to the culture of the Middle Ages to forgo the strength of modern innovations and rather depend on the raw power of God. Speaking of raw power, Thor carries the strength of the heavens inside of an iron hammer that he is willing to use in every situation possible. Thor is confident to a fault, he is confident in all of his abilities although some of his strengths are actually weaknesses and they lead him to the point of downfall. We see both of these heroes find their strength within themselves and their respective religions, they do not depend on others to give them power, their abilities transcend human capabilities.

Both characters share one interesting characteristic; they both share a peculiar motive that is defining to their cause. Thor is an out of world god who lives on a planet outside of the Milky Way, he is prepared to take over as king for his dying father when his brother Logi places Earth in harm’s way. It would have been extremely easy for the Norse god to forget about a distant planet and indulge in his evident arrogance and rest as king, however his confidence is his abilities led him to go out of his way to save a people in need, the authors of Thor use this sequence of events to indirectly characterize Thor’s ambition and courage. Beowulf is similarly portrayed in his epic poem where he places himself in danger so he can save a foreign land from a monster that has no intentions to harm Beowulf or his family. The main difference between these two motives is the ultimate question of honor versus glory. Thor does his actions to seek honor for his family, to redeem his brother’s crimes, and to save public perception of his clan. However Beowulf does it for glory, so people will remember him and stories will be told about him forever centuries.

In addition, both characters faced more than one villain. In Beowulf’s case he faced three different physical enemies; Grendel, Grendel’s mother, and the dragon that ended up killing him. Thor faced three enemies as well; his brother, the government, and himself. Thor’s villains were much more metaphorical as he struggled to find his identity outside of his planet and cope with being on Earth with a woman he fell in love with while also struggling to fight his own brother while evading the United States government and the CIA. Beowulf’s enemies were much more simplistic but they still brought Beowulf to the edge of his strength (and in regards to the last enemy) past his abilities. Both literary examples use the same style and technique that metaphorically explains to the reader that the hero can only be brought down by three different enemies.

All in all, the way these stories were presented changed the way the reader perceives the hero. The author(s) of these epic literary examples show that heroes will always be needed in any culture, society or empire. Overall, these two heroes are very similar in both who they had to fight and how they fought them, the only difference between the two is their motive, why they did what they did. The main question we as readers need to ask ourselves is the question of honor versus glory. We need to be able to differentiate between vain glory and admirable honor, then we will be able to revere our heroes with more sincerity. 

WILL STUDY FOR FOOD

I went on the website scholarships.com (thanks Mia Levy) and found a weekly scholarship where you write a 3 sentence essay (300 character max) about the given prompt and you can earn up to $1000 in scholarship money. I'm not sure what it is called but it's through Zinch.

Collaboration is Key

Since collaboration is such a sine qua non in this class, just wanted to update everyone on some great collaboration happening outside of class, Colter Knight, myself and another student worked hard on a physics experiment as demonstrated below. Some 14 students participated in this experiment and I was proud of everyone in AP Physics.

WHY THIS BOOK?

I chose to read Wuthering Heights by Emily Bronte.

I chose to read this book for two main reasons, first my sister recommended it and I trust her advice and secondly because it has appeared on the AP Test more than 10 times.