What is to come in Literature: Questions.

a) What do you know about Hamlet, the "Melancholy Dane"?  
Absolutely nothing at all. The only thing I know is that Hamlet was written by Shakespeare.

b) What do you know about Shakespeare?  
I know his writing was very different in his time period and that he wrote Romeo and Juliet. Also that he wrote many other great stories and wrote in Iambic Pentameter.

c) Why do so many students involuntarily frown when they hear the name "Shakespeare"?  
I think this happens because his reading is a little harder to read. If his stories were movies then every kid would love them. However many think that since his style is different it is harder to comprehend or get through.

 d) What can we do to make studying this play an amazing experience we'll never forget?
Rein-act the play....or have group project on the modern take of the play like Romeo and Juliet was done with Leonardo Decaprio in it. 

Vocab List #7

Aberration - the act of departing from the right, normal, or usual course.
 Her family was the opposite from what she wanted to be so she decided to take aberration from them and become her own person.

Ad hoc- for the special purpose or end presently under consideration
Ex: The ad hoc committee disbanded after making its final report.

Bane - something causes misery or death, a person or thing that ruins or spoils:
Gambling was the bane of his existence.

Bathos - triteness or triviality of style; a change from a serious subject to a disappointing one
The saga of this family brings forth so much indescribable empathy and bathos.

Cantankerous - stubbornly obstructive and unwilling to cooperate(disagreeable to deal with)
The boy was always getting in trouble for not paying attention and being cantankerous.

Casuistry - moral philosophy based on the application of general ethical principles to resolve moral dilemmas; argumentation that is specious or excessively subtle and intended to be misleading
Ex: Alas, nothing in this barrel of casuistry holds water.

De facto - in fact; in reality, actually existing, especially when without lawful authority
 Although his title was prime minister, he was de facto president of the country.

Depredation - a destructive action; the act of preying upon or plundering; robbery; ravage(damage)
His depredation actions caused him to go to jail multiple times and have many people dislike him and his past decisions.

Empathy - understanding and entering into another's feelings
 The neighbor had empathy for the boy who’s dog died because he had his dog die two years ago.

Harbinger - a person who goes ahead and makes known the approach of another
 No one likes a harbinger person because people like to make choices for themselves.

Hedonism - an ethical system that evaluates the pursuit of pleasure as the highest good
But it generates a gentle buzz of pleasure that matches the lazy hedonism of late summer.

Lackluster - lacking luster or shine; lacking brilliance or vitality
The wife was very unhappy with her wedding ring because it lackluster.

Malcontent - discontented as toward authority; not satisfied or content
Ex: The malcontent do not feel satisfied, and seem to be preparing for a sudden violent attack of some kind.

　
Mellifluous - pleasing to the ear
They only reason he always was so mellifluous was because he wanted to get her to like him in a romantic way instead of just a friend.

Nepotism - favoritism shown to relatives or close friends by those in power (as by giving them jobs)
 She was accused of nepotism when she made her nephew an officer of the firm.

Pander - someone who procures customers for whores (a pimp); arrange for sexual partners for others; give satisfaction to
But interpretive development need not pander to the former, nor seem impoverished to the latter.

Peccadillo - a very minor or slight sin or offense; a trifling(insignificant) fault
 Compared to the many hells they have done this was a peccadillo act.

Piece de resistance - the most noteworthy or prized feature, aspect, event, article, of a series or group; special item or attraction.
She fell in love with this man and called him her piece de resistance.

Remand - the act of sending an accused person back into custody to await trial. Refer to another committee or authority or court for decision; lock up or confine, in or as in a jail
 The chance that a given remand prisoner will end his or her life in prison is not unusually high.

Syndrome - a group of symptoms that together are characteristic of a specific disorder or disease
Irritable bowel syndrome may be a lifelong condition.

Literature Analysis #1

1. Briefly summarize the plot of the novel you read.

First of all the name of the main character is Antonio. Ultima is a curandera(healer) that uses herbs and sympathetic magic to help and cure people. She comes to live with Antonio and his family. Ever since Antonio was born his parents have argues whether he will be a Luna like his mom and follow in the steps of becoming a priest or a vaquero (cowboy) like his father. Him and Ultima get a long well and he helps her gathering plants and doing little jobs for her. Antonio is the witness of the death of a man named Lupito who was shot. He then begins to wonder about religion, sin, heaven, and hell. Gabriel (Antonio's father) and Maria (Antonio's mother) argue a lot because Gabriel does not believe in the religious ideas of Maria and he wished to live out in the llanera (prairie) but Maria prefers to live close to church. One day his brothers come back home from the war they are in but they let Gabriel down because instead of staying as a family they are ready to move out and keep exploring and they are also traumatized by the war. Through the rest of the story Antonio faces obstacles that once again make him think twice as to who he shall becomes. Him and Ultima establish a great relationship and her soul becomes an owl that takes care of him. At the very end of the story Tenorio was angry and shot the owl because he knew it was Ultima and thought she was the cause to all the bad that was going on in his life with his daughters. When the owl is shot Antonio begins the process of burying the owl as Ultimas wishes. With herbs and so on Ultima dies peacefully in the proper burial of Antonio. That is where it ends with a new Antonio full of new knowledge.

2. Succinctly describe the theme of the novel. Avoid cliches.

To me personally I think the theme that screamed at me was that no matter how much others wish to control you and the person you are to become they can not and you control who you become. Sometimes those people that try to control your future don't know about half the things that you experienced in your life time and therefore they can't have much say. I feel that in this story in particular that is a theme that is not a prominent but is consistent through out and should be noticed. You are who you wish to become no matter how much others say that you sill become something that they want you to be.

3. Describe the author's tone.  Include three excerpts that illustrate your point(s).

I feel the authors tone is very serious but very thoughtful at the same time. Also I feel the tone progresses with the main character of the story because Antonio starts off as a young innocent boy and after begging to see the real world he becomes very mature and so does the tone of the story. For example when Ultima first moves in it talks about the happy times they spend out collecting the plants for all of her remedies and how close they were becoming. After the first  killing we then notice a change as Antonio goes to reflect on his own and wonders all about life and what he should do in his future because he starts to wonder about sin and religion. The last part is towards the very end when Tenario becomes very angry with Ultima there is a lot of seriousness and very uptight writing leading up to the incident.

4. Describe five literary elements/techniques you observed that strengthen your understanding of the theme and/or your sense of the tone.  Include three excerpts (for each element) that will help your reader understand each one.

One literary device that I found that helped me was imagery for example that Antonio had at the very beginning of the story which was a dream:

"I do not mean the beginning that was in my dreams and thestories they whispered to me about my birth, and the people of my father and mother, and my three brothers"

This really gave me an idea as to the controversial dilemmas the story would carry.

The other elements I used were the sophisticated diction Anaya(the author) used in the book. I feel that by using the actual Spanish words for some areas like curandera, el llano, and so on give you a different outlook to the story and make the setting change.

I also really like the description of the surroundings. The reason I feel this helps further my understanding of the theme is because you need to know he is not in a big city like L.A. were killing might be common but in a small town of very religious morals where killings are not aloud and you will be punished if you commit a murder. 

One last tool that really helped me to understand this story was the symbolism that was used. The use of symbolism was so great from beginning to the end it really put an emphasis on the type of story this was. It was fictional but at some points realistic. I feel the owl as a representative of Ultima was one of the best uses of symbolism in this story.

Some American Pride!! :)

Here is our tune from Thursday in class!!

Vocabulary list #6

1.Beatitude- Supreme blessedness

• After my session in the spa I was in a state of beatitude.

2.bete noire (anathema)- someone or something which is particularly disliked or avoided; an object of aversion, the bane of one’s existence.

• Doing taxes is a bete noire that haunts every young adult when they become independent.

3.Bode- Be an omen of a particular outcome; announce beforehand

• The clouds did not bode well for our picnic!

4. Dank- unpleasantly damp, musty, and typically cold

• The weather was so dank in the morning that the hairstyle I worked on for an hour fell flat in two minutes.

5. Ecumenical- general; universal; Promoting or relating to unity among the world's Christian churches

• The ecumenical prayer service preceded what is expected to be a busy day focusing on national security and economic matters.

6. Fervid- Intensely enthusiastic or passionate; heated or vehement in spirit or enthusiasm. 

• She was such a fervid supporter of the cause that she stayed outside the building day and night during the protest, for a whole week.

7.Fetid- Smelling extremely unpleasant or having an offensive odor

• After three months of being in the jungle Jerry had such a fetid smell no one would approach him until he showered.

8. Gargantuan- gigantic; enormous; colossal:

• Even after gargantuan amounts of rain the houses remained standing and in perfect condition.

9. Heyday- The period of a person's or thing's greatest success, popularity, vigor, strength, or success; an exclamation of cheerfulness, surprise, wonder

• Even after Michael Jackson's so called heyday, he was still very praised and loved throughout his whole life. 

10. Incubus- A male demon believed to have sexual intercourse with sleeping women; a cause of distress or anxiety like a nightmare

• The psychiatrist concluded that the woman was hallucinating her nightly visits with an incubus.

11. Infrastructure- the basic, underlying framework or features of a system or organization

• The infrastructure of the building had to be reinforced three times in order to meet the earthquake safety requirements. 

12. Inveigle- to acquire, win, or obtain by beguiling talk or methods

• The guy used his charming features in order to inveigle the answers he wanted from the girl who knew them all.

13. Kudos- Praise and honor received for an achievement  

• The whole school gave her kudos after she won the international competition at the gymnastic meet that was aired worldwide.

14. Lagniappe- Something given as a bonus or extra gift.

• The Christmas gift from his boss was a great lagniappe for Bob that aloud him to buy extra Christmas gifts for his lovely kids.

15. Prolix- Using or containing too many words; tediously lengthy

• His essay became so non sequiter and prolix that after the second page I could no longer read it.

16. Protégé- a person under the patronage, protection, or care of someone interested in his or her career or welfare

• An elderly monk and his young protégé are in the temple praying and fasting.

17. Prototype- the original or model on which something is based or formed

• As soon as they realized the prototype was not working correctly they decided to not go on to mass production.

18. sycophant-A person who acts obsequiously toward someone in order to gain advantage; a servile flatterer

• The sycophant student decided to spend all his free time in class helping his teacher in order to receive an A in that class.

19. tautology- A phrase or expression in which the same thing is said twice in different words

• My brother has a tautological view on life believing that the world is either black or white.

20. truckle- to submit or yield obsequiously or tamely; A small barrel-shaped cheese

• Don't truckle to unreasonable commands.

Reading Notes: Until Now!

I feel like this test was a big eye opener for me. I never really focused on taking in detail notes because I never really needed them in my other classes. However this class is so focused on the insight and details that I can no longer do that.

My first set of notes were basically five to ten basic points for each story but now I know that I can't do that. I think the page numbers should be a big duh factor to include now. I think my notes meant nothing to me but now that I see how resourceful they could have been I know how much value I should put in my notes. I think this was definitely my first eye opener to this situation which is strange but I feel like no other class really focused on this aspect of being an individual that will be successful in studying on their own.

Vocab

acumen (noun)- keen insight.

• Capable Lawyers with business acumen are the valuable employees to any firm.

adjudicate (verb)- to settle or determine.

• It is important to adjudicate an argument in a debate in order to have a winning side.

anachronism (noun)- something or someone that is not in its correct historical time.

• The dinosaur walking down the street was a total anachronism to this time period.

apocryphal (adj)- of doubtful authorship or authenticity. 

• When someone sounds more like a wise person online then in person, they can be very apocryphal.

disparity (noun)- inequality

• There will always be disparity of wealth within this society.

dissimulate (verb)- to disguise or conceal under a false appearance.

• In order to have the surprise part be a success, we had to plan and dissimulate all the plans in front of Kate.

empirical (adj)- derived from or guided by experience or experiment

• In order to be a successful scientist you must be an empirical learner that is not afraid to take risks!

flamboyant (adj)- strikingly bold or brilliant; showy

• The man who had a PHD in mathematical education was very flamboyant and never humble about his work.

fulsome (adj)- offensive to good taste, especially as being excessive;overdone or gross

• The fact that the terrorists decided to crash a number of three planes on 9/11 was very fulsome and depressing.

immolate (verb)- to sacrifice

• In order to please gods, some religions require you have an alter and immolate items to keep the gods happy.

imperceptible (adj)- very slight, gradual, or subtle.

• The onions were so well cooked that their taste in the dish was very imperceptible.

lackey (noun)- a servile follower

• K-pop fan girls are the most lackey out of all fan girls anywhere around the world. 

liaison (noun)- a person who initiates and maintains such a contact or connection. 

• A boss is responsible to make a contract and commit to a liaison with his employees.

monolithic (adj)- consisting of one piece; solid or unbroken

• When you buy a box of eggs you want to make sure all the eggs are monolithic.

mot juste (noun)- the exact, appropriate word 

• In order to speak your mind clearly you must find all the mot juste that will fulfill your thoughts.

nihilism (noun)- total rejection of established laws and institutions.

• When a criminal decides to commit nihilism he makes the decision to spend a long time in jail.

patrician (noun)- a person of noble or high rank; aristocrat. 

• When kings existed they were a patrician on the pyramid of rank.

propitiate (verb)- to make favorably inclined; appease; conciliate.

• In order to have a successful club you must have all your decisions propitiated as a leader.

sic (verb)-to incite to attack 

• A bear will sic you without warning if you have food it wants.

sublimate(adj)-to make nobler or purer

• Monks live in ministries  in order to become more sublimate.