WHAT'S THE STORY?

When I think of 'Great Expectations' I ask myself, "how great are your expectations?" I constantly dwell on my mistakes & often hard on myself even though there is only so much I can do. It has always been this way for me. I feel as if there is always someone looking over my shoulder judging my actions. I become self-conscious & start to believe that what I do is not good enough. That I have to attain the ideal level of "perfection" that is almost unreal. There is no room for mistakes or fun. Pip was under these impressions as well & they drove him to be ambitious & act a certain way.

Charles Dickens wrote Great Expectations to portray the struggle of an adolescent, Pip, throughout his his childhood into adulthood. Essentially a rags to riches story. Pip's character grows exponentially throughout the novel, making mistakes & learning from them.

Examples such as:

1. Ms. Havisham & Estella act as a foil to the growth of Pip's character. They oppressed him, make him lose self-esteem, & make him believe that since he is uneducated he is worthless.
2. Throughout the novel there is a conflict between the characters. Such as Pip's sister being killed by a convict that Pip had previously aided. Pip feels guilty that he could have been responsible for the death of his sister.
3. Pip is often misunderstood & this is evocative in a way that makes you sympathize with Pip. This feeling takes you back to when you were not treated fairly & often judged because of where you came from.

Tale of Two Cities Lecture Notes

Lit. Terms: List #4

interior monologue: a form of stream-of-consciousness writing that represents the inner thoughts of a character

inversion: reversal of the usual or natural order of words

juxtaposition: an act or instance of placing close together or side to side, especially for comparison or contrast

lyric: (of poetry) having the form & musical quality of a song, especially the character of a song-like outpouring of the poet's own thoughts & feelings, as distinguished from epic & dramatic poetry; characterized by or expressing spontaneous, direct feelings

magic(al) realism: a style of painting & literature in which fantastic or imaginary & often unsettling images or events are depicted in a sharply detailed, realistic manner

metaphor (extended, controlling, mixed): a figure of speech in which a term or phrase is applied to something to which it is not literally applicable in order to suggest a resemblence

• extended- a metaphor introduced & then further developed throughout all or part of a literary work, especially a poem
• controlling- a symbolic story in which the real meaning is not directly put across the whole poem or may be a metaphor of something else; it affect's the diction & flow of a poem & normally used in political poems
• mixed- the use in the same expression of two or more metaphors that are incongruous or illogical when combined

metonymy: a figure of speech in the use of a name of one object or concept for that of another to which it is related, or of which it is a part
ex: "the bottle" for "strong drink"

modernism: modern character, tendencies or values; adherence to or sympathy to which is modern

monologue: a form of dramatic entertainment, comedic solo, or the like by a single speaker; a prolonged talk or discourse by a single speaker, especially one dominating or monopolizing a conversation

mood: a state or quality of feeling at a particular time

motif: a recurring subject, theme, idea, etc. especially in literary, artistic, or musical work

myth: a traditional or legendary story, usually concerning some being or hero or event w/ or w/o a determinable basis or fact or a natural explanation, especially one that is concerned with deities or demigods & explains some practice, rite or phenomenon of nature

narrative: a story or account of events, experiences, of the like, either true or fictitious

narrator: a person who gives an account or tells the story of events, experiences, etc.

naturalism: a manner or technique of treating subject manner that presents, through volume of detail, deterministic view of human life & actions

novelette/novella: a brief novel or long short story; a fictional prose narrative that is longer & more complex than short story

omniscient point of view: method of storytelling in which the narrator knows the thoughts & feelings of all the characters in the story

onomatopoeia: the formation of a word, as cuckoo, meow, honk, or boom, by a imitation of a sound made by or associated w/ its referent

oxymoron: a figure of speech by which a locution produces an incongruous, seemingly self-contradictory effect as in "cruel kindness" or "to make haste slowly"

pacing:

parable: a short allegorical story deigned to illustrate or teach some truth, religious principle or moral lesson; a statement or comment that conveys a meaning indirectly by the use of comparison, analogy or the like

paradox: a statement or proposition that seems self-contradictory or absurd but in reality expresses a possible truth

Lit. Terms: List #3

exposition: the act of expounding, setting forth; writing or speech primarily intended to convey information

expressionism: fine arts a manner of painting, drawing, sculpting, etc. in which forms derived from nature are distorted or exaggerated & colors are intensified for emotive or expressive purposes; literature a technique of distorting objects & events in order to represent them as they are perceive by a character in a literary work

fable: a short tale to tell a moral lesson, often with animals or inanimate objects as characters

fallacy: a deceptive, misleading, or false notion, belief, etc.

falling action: the part of a literary plot that occurs after the climax has been reached & the conflict has been resolved

farce: a light, humorous play in which the plot depends upon a skillfully exploited situation rather than upon the development of a character

figurative language: language that contains or uses figures of speech, especially metaphors

flashback: a device in a narrative of a motion picture, novel, etc. by which an event or scene taking place before the present time in the narrative is inserted into the chronological structure of the work

foil: to prevent the success of; frustrate

folk tale: a tale or legend originating & traditional among a people or folk, especially one forming part of the oral tradition of the common people

foreshadowing: to show or indicate beforehand

free verse: verse that does not follow a fixed metrical pattern

genre: a class or category of artistic endeavor having a particular form, content, technique or the like

gothic tale:

hyperbole: obvious & intentional exaggeration

imagery: the formation of mental images, figures or likeness of things, or of such images collectively

implication:something implied or suggested as naturally to be inferred or understood

incongruity: the quality or condition of being inconsistent

inference: the act or process of inferring; interpretation

irony: the use of words to convey a meaning that is the opposite of its literal meaning

LIT TERMS REMIX 1-5

1.CIRCUMLOCUTION

2. CLASSICISM

3. CLICHE

4. CLIMAX

5. COLLOQUIALISM

Literary Terms: List #2

circumlocution: roundabout or indirect way of speaking

classicism: adherence to such principles

cliche: a trite, stereotypical saying

climax: highest or most intense  point in development or resolution of something

colloquialism: a word or phrase that is not formal & used in normal conversation

comedy: a play, movie. etc. of light or humorous character w/ a happy or humorous ending

conflict: to come into collision or disagreement

connotation: something suggested or implied by a word or expression

contrast: to compare in order to show unlikeness or differences

denotation: the explicit or direct meaning or set of meanings of a word or expression

denouement: the final resolution of the intricacies of the plot, as of a drama or play

dialect: a provincial, rural, or socially distinct variety of a language that differs from the standard language

dialectics: the art or practice of logical discussion as employed in investigating the truth of a theory or opinion

dichotomy: division of two parts, kinds, etc.

diction: style of speaking or writing as dependent on the choice of words

didactic: intended for instruction; inclined to teach too much

dogmatic: asserting opinions in a doctrinaire or arrogant manner

elegy: a mournful, melancholy, or plaintive poem, especially a funeral song or a lament for the dead

epic: noting or pertaining to a long poetic composition, usually centered upon a hero, in which a series of great achievements or events is narrated in elevated style

epigraph: an inscription, especially on a building, statue or the like

epitaph: a commemorative inscription on a tomb or mortuary monument about the person buried at the site

epithet: any word or phrase applied to a person or thing to describe an actuated or attributed quality

euphemism: the substitution of a mild, indirect or vague expression for one thought to be offensive, harsh or blunt

evocative: tending to evoke

Literary Terms List #1

allegory: a representation of an abstract or spiritual meaning through concrete or material forms; figurative treatment of one subject under the guise of another.
alliteration: the commencement of two or more stressed syllables of a word group either with the same consonant sound or sound group (consonantal alliteration)  as in from stem to stern,  or with a vowel sound that may differ from syllable to syllable (vocalic alliteration)  as in each to all.
allusion:the act or practice of making a casual or indirect reference to something.
ambiguity: doubtfulness or uncertainty of meaning or intention
anachronism: an error in chronology in which a person, object, event, etc., is assigned a date or period other than the correct one
analogy:a similarity between like features of two things, on which a comparison may be based
analysis:this process as a method of studying the nature of something or of determining its essential features and their relations
anaphora:  repetition of a word or words at the beginning of two or more successive verses, clauses, or sentences
anecdote:a short account of a particular incident or event, especially of an interesting or amusing nature
antagonist:a person who is opposed to, struggles against, or competes with another; opponent; adversary
antithesis: opposition, contrast
aphorism: a terse saying embodying a general truth, or astute observation, as "Power tends to corrupt , and absoloute power corrupts absolutely" Lord Acton
apologia: an apology, as in defense or justification of a belief
apostrophe: a digression in the form of an address to someone not present, or to a personified object or idea, as “ODeath, where is thy sting?"
argument: a discussion involving differing points of view; debate
assumption: something taken for granted; a supposition: a correct assumption. Synonyms: presupposition;hypothesis, conjecture, guess, postulate, theory
audience: the persons reached by a book, radio or television broadcast, etc.; public: Some works of music have a wide and varied audience.
characterization: portrayal, description
chiasmus: a reversal in the order of words in two otherwise parallel phrases as in “He went to the country, to the town went she.”

AP PREP POST 1: SIDDHARTHA

1. Siddhartha concerns the quest for spiritual enlightenment, and by the end of it four characters have achieved this goal: Govinda, Gotama, Vasudeva, and Siddhartha. Is the enlightenment achieved by each of these characters the same? Why or why not? What distinctions and similarities exist between the paths these characters use to reach their final goal?
(http://danig14.blogspot.com/2013/01/1.html)

2.What purpose does self-denial serve in Siddhartha? What about self-indulgence?

(http://www.shmoop.com/siddhartha/questions.html)

3.What does enlightenment look like in Siddhartha? Is it a feeling? An attitude?http://www.shmoop.com/siddhartha/questions.html

4. A bildungsroman, a coming-of-age novel, recounts the psychological or moral development of its protagonist from youth to maturity, when this character recognizes his or her place in the world. Select a single pivotal moment in the psychological or moral development of the protagonist of a bildungsroman. Analyze how that single moment shapes the meaning of the world as a whole.

http://media.collegeboard.com/digitalServices/pdf/ap/apcentral/ap13_frq_eng_lit.pdf

5.The quotation “Immediately he moved on again and began to walk quickly and impatiently, no longer homewards, no longer to his father, no longer looking backwards”, shows a shift from…

a. Anger and resentment, toward acceptance
b. A resolute journey, onto a more free-flowing and spontaneous path
c. Fear of his parentage, toward a fear of loneliness
d. Looking to the past for enlightenment, toward looking to the future and within himself
e. Fear of failure, toward an acceptance of possibility of error.

http://snobles.grads.digitalodu.com/blog/groups/ap-english-2012-2013/forum/topic/siddhartha-multiple-choice-questions/

In order for me to prepare for the AP exam I would have to for one reread this  book in order to refresh my knowledge on the book as well as reviewing various other novels. Also literary terms, recognizing & applying them to my work is very difficult with me. I need to practice each lit terms while I read in order for me to master them. Not to mention reviewing & applying higher level vocabulary into my writing.

HACKING MY EDUCATION

"FOLLOW YOUR BLISS"

WHAT DO I MEAN BY HACKING?
-Redesigning

WHAT DO I WANT TO KNOW IN JUNE THAT I DON'T KNOW NOW?
-I want to be able to know how to depend on myself, rather than others. In June I will be turning 18, a huge stepping stone into "adulthood". Presently I want to feel emotionally & physically prepared to be on my own. I do not feel 17 & won't actually feel my age until my next birthday. I need to be prepared for the unexpected outcomes of my new life that is rapidly approaching.

WHAT SKILLS DO I WANT TO DEMONSTRATE ON MY BLOG OR ONLINE MEDIA?
-I want to be able to present that I can analyze & clearly present my ideas, thoughts, etc. I want readers of my work or assignments to understand my P.O.V. To show that I am capable of depth & simplicity. Overall I want to demonstrate my skills as well-rounded.

WHAT EXPERIENCES DO I WANT TO HAVE AS A RESULT?
-I crave knowledge & acceptance. Everything that I plan on pursuing will have a different outcome then I currently expect. I want to experience the good & the bad. The bad b/c there will come a lesson that I will build off of. The good so that I can always remember that not everything turns to shit. I want to experience everything as humanly possible.

WHO DO I NEED IN MY NETWORK?
-Peers, Public, Professionals (Experts)

What's In This For Me?

This semester I plan on improving my overall work ethic in order for me to improve substantially in this course. I want to be perform at my best and be able to recognize the hard work as the best that I can do. Not just "passable". I need to discover that balance between everything I need to do and want to do in order for me to be successful this last semester. These are my goals that I hope to accomplish for school.

As for everything else, I want to improve on becoming a more caring and passionate person. I don't want to "half-ass" things anymore. I want to aid others and make a difference in my community. I want to make my mark this last semester of my high school career. I want to be remembered for all of the good things I accomplished and not of the mistakes I made along the way. Ultimately I want to be someone I can be proud of, I want to be my own anchor.