Quote

This quote stood out to me in the way he talks about making music for the love of his audience rather then himself.

What's The Story

The novel Great Expectations  written by Charles Dickens was written and based off the Victorian time period. This  statement defines the  Victorian era in a way that resembles the novel, "It was a long period of peace, prosperity, refined sensibilities and national self-confidence for Britain." 

The young Pip is an orphan whose expectations come from society. He is called upon to make peace with the unfortunate life he was given; he's called upon to learn the ways of the world and prosper in life whether it's monetary or through relationships; he's called upon to accept reality and refine his emotions and attributes based on how society views acceptable; he's called upon to perceive and showcase himself as confident young man whether he believes it or not because society has that expectation of him.

Through the characters of the novel, we see examples of round characters, flat characters and foil characters. Some characters that contrast each other are Magwitch and Pip, Jaggers and Joe. These are great examples of foil characters in the way that each have a strong personality that demonstrates different sides of a similar issue. Pips personality varies throughout the story depending on who he is around and what influence they have on him. One character that changes throughout the story was Magwitch in the way he went from cold and cruel to loving and caring from the time he spends with Pip. 

Naiomi watch this video

The tones for the journal write reminded me if this video, gotta share.

On top of Dickens' piano

"When Dickens wrote his neighbors called the cops"

"I'm not really writing lyrics I'm taking notes at this great concert inside my head"

"Interesting" Discussion

While listening to this lecture yesterday we were talking about what different aspects of the novel symbolized and this picture popped into my head. I came across it on an app for a collection of "funny" pictures. This image reminds me of the different styles of analyzation of one particular piece. It also remind me of how we overcomplicate life and it's simplistic nature. Sometimes the curtains are just blue, they don't need to represent depression or the storm to come. They could simply be blue because I really like blue. Like all other authors Dickens could just be representing Pip as the child that he is, not a fantasist (no offense). Now that my argument has faded away, like the curtains in front of the window, it is important to remind ourselves to view life in both the simplistic and complex lens. 

Cop dancing

This video made my day!! Cops are humans to. Click this link to read the newsclipping and see the video!!

AP Test Prep Help

In a link I am attaching here, is a link to a website titles Learnerator Guide for AP English Literature. I thought it might be helpful for my classmates and I just wanted to give this website out, I found it while looking for Siddhartha questions.

AP Prep Post #1 Siddhartha Part C

1. Siddhartha features substantial activity and narrative action. At the same time, it is about one man’s largely internal spiritual quest. What is the relationship between the internal and exterior worlds of Siddhartha? How does Siddhartha negotiate these worlds?

(http://danig14.blogspot.com/2013/01/1.html) 


For while it appears that the exterior world took hold of his life and ruled without challenge. His actions where only influenced by what the world around him said was okay for him to do. He became a priest and lived without home because that what he believed society wanted from him. If his religion required that he did something then he would do it. However on his trip back to his family, the internal world started to raise to the surface. It began taking hold and caused him to question the path he chose. The battle broke out causing Siddhartha to be confused, uncertain of what he was to do to the point where he stopped in his path to ponder. Eventually the exterior world was defeated and the internal world began its reign over Siddhartha for the first time.

AP Prep Post #1 Siddhartha Part B

What does enlightenment look like in Siddhartha? Is it a feeling? An attitude? 

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

In Siddhartha, enlightenment came when he was on his path towards his family's home. He understood that he had a greater meaning than what he was making out for himself. He was able to look deeper into the meaning of life than those around him and he understood that he had the opportunity to choose his own path. However with this enlightenment came with the feeling of loneliness and confusion. His whole world was turned upside down, going from a clear straight forward path to a not so clear twisted path. However towards the end of the passage, his attitude shifted and he became very optimistic knowing that he was in charge of his life. 

AP Prep Post #1 Siddhartha part A

A bildungsroman, or 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. Then write a well-organized essay that analyzes how that single moment shapes the meaning of the work as a whole. You may choose a work from the list below or one of comparable literary merit. Do not merely summarize the plot.

The Adventures of Augie March

Adventures of Huckleberry Finn

All the Pretty Horses

Atonement

Black Boy

Breath, Eyes, Memory

Brown Girl, Brownstones

The Catcher in the Rye

Cat’s Eye

The Chosen

The Cider House Rules

The Color Purple

David Copperfield

The God of Small Things

The Grapes of Wrath

Great Expectations

The House on Mango Street

Invisible Man

Jane Eyre

Jasmine

The Joy Luck Club

The Joys of Motherhood

The Namesake

A Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man

Purple Hibiscus

The Secret Life of Bees

A Separate Peace

Siddhartha

Song of Solomon

The Sorrows of Young Werther

The Sound and the Fury

The Story of Edgar Sawtelle

Their Eyes Were Watching God

A Thousand Splendid Suns

To Kill a Mockingbird

A Tree Grows in Brooklyn

The Woman Warrior

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

In Siddhartha the main character reaches a pivotal moment when he find himself stopped in the middle of a road philosophically thinking about the choices he has made in his life. He finds himself "stopped in the road, frozen as if he saw a snake." He realizes that he has spent much of his life doing what others told him, what his family wanted, what his religion required of him. In my class we have a student who is a Brahmin and she shared with us how society has very high expectations of Brahmins and that if one were to venture away from their religion, then they were seen as a danger and looked down upon.

Siddhartha realizes, as he is traveling to his family, that he is trapped in those expectations. The expectations of being a priest and doing what others want him to do and not what his heart wants him to do. He realizes that there is a world for him out there and he is in charge of where he goes from there. Towards the end of the passage, he starts walking again with a new sense of purpose. His own purpose.

Lit Terms 1

Allegory: a tale in prose or verse in which characters, actions, or settings represent abstract ideas or moral qualities; a story that uses symbols to make a point

Alliteration: the repetition of similar initial sounds, usually consonants, in a group of words

Allusion: a reference to a person, a place, an event, or a literary work that a writer expects a reader to recognize

Ambiguity: something uncertain as to interpretation

Anachronism: something that shows up in the wrong place or the wrong time

Analogy: a comparison made between two things to show the similarities between them

Analysis: a method in which a work or idea is separated into its parts, and those parts given rigorous and detailed scrutiny

Anaphora: a device or repetition in which a word or words are repeated at the beginning of two or more lines, phrases, clauses, or sentences

Anecdote: a very short story used to illustrate a point

Antagonist: a person or force opposing the protagonist in a drama or narrative

Antithesis: a balancing of one term against another for emphasis or stylistic effectiveness

Aphorism: a terse, pointed statement expressing some wise or clever observation about life

Apologia: a defense or justification for some doctrine, piece of writing, cause, or action; also apology

Apostrophe: a figure of speech in which an absent or dead person, an abstract quality, or something inanimate or nonhuman is addressed directly

Argument(ation): the process of convincing a reader by proving either the truth or the falsity of an idea or proposition; also, the thesis or proposition itself

Assumption: the act of supposing, or taking for granted that a thing is true

Audience: the intended listener or listeners

Characterization: the means by which a writer reveals a character’s personality

Chiasmus: a reversal in the order off words so that the second half of a statement balances the first half in inverted word order

Masterpiece Description

For my masterpiece I want to incorporate something that I've always been interested in with my career goals in the future. I did find a hard choice between ancient Egypt and space. However I decided that since I have researched so much about pharaohs and Egypt that I would like to venture out and research something completely new and interesting, so I decided on space. I want my masterpiece to incorporate as much fun interesting things about space as possible along with facts about how the astronauts keep themselves healthy once they are in space. I did throw some emails Mrs. Dirkes' way and she told me lots of amazing facts about space and astronauts that it really caught my attention. She recommended the book An Astronaut's Guide to Life on Earth which I have started reading for my literature analysis. 

For the second part of my masterpiece I want to evaluate and contrast the different styles of patient care that emergency doctors possess. I have become close to two Emergency Physicians at Marian and I have been several times to the ER shadowing them. I want to bring my experiences alive to the class. However I'm not to sure on how to pursue something like this but I'm going to let it take its course and see where I find myself.

Masterpiece Literature Analysis

While having an email chat with Mrs. Dirkes, she recommended this book for a good read. Hopefully it will offer better insight into what space is like for the astronauts.

Millicent Angulo masterpiece

I've talked extensively with Millie about her masterpiece and my masterpiece. Her masterpiece is about her family tree. Bringing to life her family history, where she came from and how her family g out to where they are now. She was thinking of bringing her heritage alive to the class and also bring her cultural food. I honestly am extremely excited to see how she works with this and I'm interested to see her family history.