Pre-Will

a) I know virtually nothing about Hamlet, the "Melancholy Dane". I know a couple of quotes, but that's pretty much it.

b) I know that Shakespeare writes in iambic pentameter and that he's an English poet and playwright.

c) Shakespeare writes in a way that can be very difficult to understand or is just something that bores them.

d) Have an open mind and try not to think like a normal high school student and try to actually listen and learn to what Shakespeare is saying.

Literary Analysis- Characterization

1. Direct Characterization-

• "The Director of Companies was our captain and our host"
• "He resembled a pilot, which to seaman is trustworthiness personified"

 Indirect Characterization-

• "Between us there was, as I have already said somewhere, the bond of the sea."
• "'And this also,' said Marlow suddenly, ' has been one of the dark places of the earth."

The author most likely uses both approaches so to not sound repetitive. It's a good way to describe people without just describing them as having blonde hair, and blue eyes, but to have a roundabout way to describe that person. 

2. The author does not seem to make any distinction in his syntax and diction when he focuses on the character.

3. Charles Marlow is both dynamic and a round character. He changes throughout the course of the book. His meeting with Kurtz and his whole journey through the Congo changes him forever. He is also a round character, because we meet him as a character with a full set of qualities and characteristics, he is a round character.

4. I'm not sure how to use a textual reference to show how I feel, but in most books I feel like I come away feeling like I had met the person. Charles Marlow is described pretty well and I feel like I really know who he is. It is fairly easy for me to establish connections with characters.

Vocabulary List #7

Aberration - (noun)the act of departing from the right, normal, or usual course.
~My thoughts were all in order until an aberration disturbed my train of thought.
Ad hoc- (adverb) for the special purpose or end presently under consideration
~We met ad hoc to put an end to the matter at hand.
Bane - (noun) something causes misery or death
~Jumping in cold water is my bane.
Bathos - (noun) triteness or triviality of style; a change from a serious subject to a disappointing one; insincere pathos
~Expecting the movie to be intellectually stimulating, we were disappointed by its bathos.
Cantankerous - (adj.) having a difficult and contrary disposition; stubbornly obstructive and unwilling to cooperate
~The cantankerous, old man would not stop complaining about his aching hip.
Casuistry - (noun) 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
~Casuistry is a way of life, that a lot of people live by.
De facto - (noun) in fact; in reality
~De facto Asians are not really that much smarter than other races.
Depredation - (noun) an act of plundering and pillaging and marauding; (usually plural) a destructive action
~The depredation of the village left it in ruin.
Empathy - (noun) understanding and entering into another's feelings
~I tried to empathize what my friend must have felt when his mother died.
Harbinger - (noun) an indication of the approach of something or someone; verb foreshadow or presage
~The echoing of the man's footsteps was the harbinger that someone was approaching.
Hedonism - (noun) an ethical system that evaluates the pursuit of pleasure as the highest good; the pursuit of pleasure as a matter of ethical principle
~Hedonism is a widely followed principal, because everyone wants to experience pleasure.
Lackluster - (adj.) lacking luster or shine; lacking brilliance or vitality
~The dancer's performance was lackluster and lacked pizzazz.
Malcontent - (adj.) discontented as toward authority; noun a person who is discontented or disgusted
~He was malcontent, in that he had just lost a winnable game.
Mellifluous - (adj.) pleasing to the ear
~The singing of a mockingbird is mellifluous.
Nepotism - (noun) favoritism shown to relatives or close friends by those in power (as by giving them jobs)
~The uncle showed some nepotism, when he chose his niece for the job, even though the other candidate was more deserving.
Pander - (noun) someone who procures customers for whores ; verb arrange for sexual partners for others; yield (to); give satisfaction to
~The pander was very helpful in procuring a whore for the man to have sexual relations with.
Peccadillo - (noun) a petty misdeed
~The peccadillo the nine year old did was childish and immature.
Piece de resistance - (noun) the most noteworthy or prized feature, aspect, event, article, etc., of a series or group; special item or attraction.
~The Mona Lisa is the piece de resistance of all paintings.
Remand - (noun) the act of sending an accused person back into custody to await trial (or the continuation of the trial); verb refer (a matter or legal case) to another committee or authority or court for decision; lock up or confine, in or as in a jail
~The prosecutor demanded for the remand of the convict and to not let the convict post bail.
Syndrome - (noun) a complex of concurrent things; a pattern of symptoms indicative of some disease
~My little cousin, unfortunately has Down Syndrome.

Literary Analysis-Heart of Darkness

1. The plot is about an Englishman named Charles Marlow. He and his crew are on a river in Africa for trading purposes. He is supposed to be taking ivory down the river, but his real job is to take a man named Kurtz, back to civilization. Along the way, essentially, Marlow sees the evils of how Europe is trying to colonize the African countries.  He sees how the African people are brutally mistreated and makes him wonder about the darkness in every human for being able to do such terrible things.

2. The theme of the Heart of Darkness is the evil of colonization. The novel is big on this theme. It show time and time again the evils of colonization, not just to the native African's, but also to some of the whites that live there as well.

3. The author's tone is very cynical.

•  “And this also,’ said Marlow suddenly, ‘has been one of the dark places of the earth.’”
• “It was unearthly, and the men were—No, they were not inhuman. Well, you know, that was the worst of it—the suspicion of their not being inhuman. It would come slowly to one. They howled and leaped, and spun, and made horrid faces"
• “It was reckless without hardihood, greedy without audacity, and cruel without courage.”

4. The syntax, foreshadowing, tone, and diction help make this book much easier to understand. The diction and syntax is not that hard to understand. Joseph Conrad uses mildly difficult syntax, but it is nothing that I can't understand, it is the meaning behind what he is trying to say that makes this book a little bit confusing. Joseph Conrad also uses foreshadowing in the book. When Marlow tells stories of England, it shows the type of characters that we are going to meet later in the story, for example he foreshadows the meeting with Kurtz. It's easy to detect foreshadowing because the story is told from a looking back standpoint. The tone is very cynical and dark. The message is dark because the books wants to show the evils of colonization. 

Beatitude- Supreme blessedness

- We consider it to be a beatitude to our family that our grandmother survived the cancer scare. 

Bete noire- a detested person (disliked or avoided)

- The Joker, from Batman, is a bete noire.

Bode- Be an omen of a particular outcome

- It does not bode well with me that our best player is out sick. 

Dank- Disagreeably damp, musty, and typically cold

- The basement was dank and it sent a tingle down my spine.

Ecumenical- universal

-Treat others how you want to be treated is an ecumenical rule of thumb. 

Fervid- Intensely enthusiastic or passionate

- I am fervid about water polo.

Fetid- Smelling extremely unpleasant

-Fetid skin is extremely nauseating.

Gargantuan- of great mass

-Godzilla is gargantuan.

Heyday- The period of a person's or thing's greatest success or popularity

-My preteen years has the been the heyday of my lifetime.

Incubus- A cause of distress or anxiety like a nightmare

-Paranormal Activity is an incubus for me.

Infrastructure- The basic physical and organizational structures and facilities needed for the operation

-The U.S infrastructure is lacking.

Inveigle- Persuade (someone) to do something by means of deception or flattery

-The student tried to inveigle his teacher to raise his grade by the end of the grading period.

Kudos- Praise and honor received for an achievement

-I gave my sister kudos for graduating college.

Lagniappe- Something given as a bonus or extra gift

-I gave the man lagniappe for working extra hard.

Prolix- Using or containing too many words; tediously lengthy

-The student's essay was very prolix and almost impossible to understand. 

Protege- a person who receives support and protection from an influential patron who furthers the protege's 

career

-The piano protege was the most amazing kid I have ever seen someone under the age of ten.

Prototype- A first or preliminary model of something, esp. a machine, from which other forms are 

developed or copied

-The prototype to the robot was a complete failure and made the inventors come up with a whole new blueprint for it.

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

-Sycophants are in every classroom and annoy the hell out of me.

Tautology- The saying of the same thing twice in different words

-Tautology is something that is puzzling to me.

Truckle- Submit or behave obsequiously

- The slave truckled before his master and bowed. 

Notes for Pages 64-82

Notes:
Epic: noting or pertaining to a long poetic composition, usually centered upon a hero, in which a series of greatachievements or events is narrated in elevated style

Gilgamesh

• Gilgamesh is 4000 years old
• Gilgamesh built a home for all the major gods
• He is said to be a third man and two thirds god. 
• The story takes place in Uruk
• Uruk was an ancient city of Sumer, and was also situated east of the present bed of the Euphrates river
• Gilgamesh, as the king of Uruk, pretty does whatever he wants to do without restriction
• Anu is the Father of the Gods
•  Ishtar is the Goddess of Love
• Gilgamesh's father is Lugalbanda 
• Mother is Lady Wildcow Ninsun
• Gilgamesh is the vanguard and rear guard of the army 

The Iliad:

• The Iliad is 3000 years old
• Zeus is Athena's father and she was born by coming from his brow. 
• Hector was the commander of the Trojan army
• Achilles and his army had beaten back Hektor and the Trojan army 
• Hektor was scared at first, and ran around the city three times 
• But finally conquered his fear and challenged Achilles to fight
• Athena disguised herself as a Trojan soldier and lead Hektor to Achilles 
• Achilles had said that there were to be no oaths between enemies
• Achilles is fighting because he wants to avenge all the people that Hektor had killed
• Athena helps Achilles by pretending to be a Trojan warrior that is supposed to be helping Hektor, but secretly gives aid to Achilles
• Hektor knew he was going to die, but he wanted to go down fighting and to be remembered for years to come
• Hektor wanted a swift death, and Achilles knew the weakness in the armor that Hektor was wearing and stabbed him in the neck 
• Achilles has a vendetta against Hektor because Hektor had killed his friend, Patroklos 
• After Achilles stabs Hektor in the neck he wants to leave him out and be eaten, but Hektor begs to be cremated and promises treasure
• Achilles refuses and shows Hektor no mercy. 
• Hektor uses his final breath to curse Achilles saying the gods weren't on his side, but Achilles knew that the gods and fate were in his favor. 

Acumen - (noun) a tapering point; shrewdness shown by keen insight

-The man won the debate with an acumen that the other man could not counter.
Adjudicate - (verb) bring to an end; settle conclusively; put on trial or hear a case and sit as the judge at the trial of
-My mother adjudicated the argument between my sister and I.
Anachronism - (noun) an artifact that belongs to another time; a person who seems to be displaced in time; who belongs to another age; something located at a time when it could not have existed or occurred
-A spear today is an example of an anachronism.
Apocryphal - (adj.) being of questionable authenticity; of or belonging to the Apocrypha
-The apocryphal signature was questioned by the principal.
Disparity - (noun) inequality or difference in some respect
-I'm treated with disparity when it comes between my sister and I.
Dissimulate - (verb) hide (feelings) from other people
-I dissimulate my feelings so I don't show any weaknesses.
Empirical - (adj.) derived from experiment and observation rather than theory; relying on medical quackery
-The empirical result was shocking because it was not the expected outcome.
Flamboyant - (adj.) richly and brilliantly colorful; elaborately or excessively ornamented; nounshowy tropical tree or shrub native to Madagascar; widely planted in tropical regions for its immense racemes of scarlet and orange flowers; sometimes placed in genus Poinciana
-The king's room was flamboyant, and he thought that some this wealth could go to the people.
Fulsome - (adj.) unpleasantly and excessively suave or ingratiating in manner or speech
-The silver tongued man was fulsome and nobody like him.
Immolate - (verb) offer as a sacrifice by killing or by giving up to destruction
-In biblical times, Abraham was asked by God to immolate his son.
Imperceptible - (adj.) impossible or difficult to perceive by the mind or senses
-The ninja was imperceptible.
Lackey - (noun) a male servant (especially a footman); a person who tries to please someone in order to gain a personal advantage
-I have man lackeys willing to do my bidding.
Liaison - (noun) a channel for communication between groups; a usually secretive or illicit sexual relationship
- I had a liaison with my wife's sister. 

Monolithic - (adj.) characterized by massiveness and rigidity and total uniformity; imposing in size or bulk or solidity

-The opposing army seemed never ending and monolithic.
Mot juste - (noun) the approprite word or expression
-The word  mot juste makes this a sentence.
Nihilism - (noun) a revolutionary doctrine that advocates destruction of the social system for its own sake; complete denial of all established authority and institutions; the delusion that things (or everything, including the self) do not exist; a sense that everything is unreal
-Nihilism would be the begininninf ot the end of the world.
Patrician - (adj.) of the hereditary aristocracy or ruling class of ancient Rome or medieval Europe; of honorary nobility in the Byzantine empire; belonging to or characteristic of the nobility or aristocracy; noun a person of refined upbringing and manners; a member of the aristocracy
-The patricians of ancient Rome usually spoke for the plebes.
Propitiate - (verb) make peace with
-One day, I hope the United States propitiates with North Korea.
Sic -(adv.)intentionally so written (used after a printed word or phrase);(verb) urge a dog to attack someone
- I sicced my dog on the intruder.
Sublimate - (adj.) made pure; noun the product of vaporization of a solid; (verb) direct energy or urges into useful activities; vaporize and then condense right back again; change or cause to change directly from a solid into a vapor without first melting; remove impurities from, increase the concentration of, and separate through the process of distillation; make more subtle or refined
-My parents tried to sublimate me and my siblings into doing something useful. 

Beowulf ond Godsylla

Beowulf and Godsylla
Meanehwæl, baccat meaddehæle, monstær lurccen;
Fulle few too many drincce, hie luccen for fyht.
Ðen Hreorfneorhtðhwr, son of Hrwærowþheororthwl,
Æsccen æwful jeork to steop outsyd. Þhud! Bashe! Crasch! Beoom! Ðe bigge gye
Eallum his bon brak, byt his nose offe;
Wicced Godsylla wæld on his asse.
Monstær moppe fleor wyþ eallum men in hælle.
Beowulf in bacceroome fonecall bamaccen wæs;
Hearen sond of ruccus sæd, "Hwæt ðe helle?"
Graben sheold strang ond swich-blæd scharp
Stond feorth to fyht ðe grimlic foe. "Me," Godsylla sæd, "mac ðe minsemete."
Heoro cwyc geten heold wiþ fæmed half-nelson
Ond flyng him lic frisbe bac to fen
Beowulf belly up to meaddehæle bar,
Sæd, "Ne foe beaten mie færsom cung-fu."
Eorderen cocca-cohla yce-coeld, ðe reol þyng.

Beowulf and Godsylla(Translation)
Meanwhile, back at the mead-hall, the monster lurked
Full (of) few too many drinks, he was looking for a fight
Then (name), son of (name) asked the awful jerk to step outside
Thud, Bash, Crash, boom, the big guy
All of his bones broke, bit his nose off;

Wicked Godzilla wailed on his a ss
Moster mopped the floor with all the men in the hall
Beowulf in the backroom making a phone call (?)
Hearing sounds of ruckus said, "What the hell?"
Grabbed his strong shield and sharp switch blade

Stood forth to fight the grimlic foe

"Me," Godzilla said, "Make the mince-meat"

Hero ? quickly got (getting) held with the famed half-nelson
And flying him like a frisbee back and forth

Beowulf belly up to the mead-hall's bar,

said, "No foe has beaten my fearsome kung-fu."
He ordered coca-cola, ice cold, the real thing

(Got it from yahoo answers)

Hero Assignment

I will be deconstructing the hero Bruce Wayne aka Batman(from the recent movies). Bruce Wayne's call to action happens when a man comes to his cell and offers him a chance out and to become a member of the League of Shadows and to become something more. Bruce reluctantly agrees and starts the initiation process , but he soon disagrees with the methods and the ideas of the League of Shadows and he separates from the and soon fights against the corrupt in Gotham City as Batman. He then begins his journey. He fights off corruption seen in villains and then the corruption in people he once thought he could trust. He faces many trials and tribulations. He is distracted with his love interest Rachel Dawes and he almost stops being Batman for her. He is helped along the way by his butler Alfred. In the end he is faced with his greatest test of saving Gotham from nuclear destruction. We are led to believe that he takes the nuclear device away oversea as the clock is ticking down and that he is making the ultimate sacrifice, which is sacrificing his life to save many. But at the very end we see him alive and well.

Vocabulary List #4

Apostate- a person who leaves behind his religious or political beliefs. (noun)
- My friend is an apostate, because he gave up Christianity.
Effusive- something or someone showing unrestrained emotion or thankfulness. (noun)
-I thanked the man effusively for saving my life.
Impasse-something from which there is no escape or solution. (noun)
-The maze was an impasse for the rat.
Euphoria-describes a feeling of well-being and great happiness. (noun)
-After he took the drugs, the man entered a state of euphoria.
Lugubrious- describes someone who looks very sad, depressed or long-in-the-face. (adjective)
- She looked lugubrious when she found out that her dog died.
Bravado- behavior by a scared person that shows courage. (noun)
-The little boy showed bravado when faced with the ugly witch.
Consensus- an agreement made by a group. (noun)
-My family came to the consensus that we were going to eat pizza tonight.
Dichotomy- a sharp division of things or ideas into two contradictory parts. (noun)
-There is usually a pretty even dichotomy when trying to choose the next president of the U.S.
Constrict- to become narrower at one place, or to make something narrower or more restrictive. (verb)
-The boa constrictor began to constrict my whole body, which made it impossible to breathe.
Gothic- related to medieval style or the horror and mystery depicted in fiction about the 18th and 19th centuries. (adjective)
-The gothic architecture looks so beautiful.
Punctilio-precise observance of petty formalities
-My grandmother is very punctilious when it comes to table manners.
Metamorphosis-change of form, shape, structure, or substance; transformation, as, in myths, by magic or sorcery
-The caterpillar  metamorphosized into a butterfly.
Raconteur-a person who tells stories or anecdotes in an amusing and clever way(noun)
-The children loved the man because he was a raconteur and could always make the stories fun.
Sine qua non-an essential condition, qualification, etc.; indispensable thing; absolute prerequisite
-Hard work is sine qua non for success in anything you do.
Quixotic- romantic behavior or following beliefs even though they are foolish or unreachable goals. (adjective)
-He is quixotic in his journey for love because he is so ugly no one will take him.
Vendetta- a lingering grudge or feeling of hatred for someone, such as a blood feud where the family of someone who had been killed seeks revenge on the family of the killer or his family. (noun)
-I have a vendetta against my evil twin.
Non sequitur- a statement, conclusion or reply that has nothing to do with the previous statement. (noun)
-The debater gave a non sequitur and tried to change the subject when he knew he was losing.
Mystique- an aura of mystery or an air of secrecy surrounding something or someone that makes the person or thing seem very intriguing. (noun)
-The woman at the bar had a certain mystique about her.
Quagmire- soft, wet ground or a complex and difficult situation with no easy solution. (noun)
-The man was left in a quagmire and didn't know what to do.
Parlous-perilous; dangerous; risky
-People seeking adrenaline rushes usually do things that very parlous.

Literary Analysis Reading Book

I am going to be reading Heart of Darkness. My process for selecting this book was that I asked my mother to look at the list and for her to pick a book that she he had read and that had been interesting to her. She ended up choosing Heart of Darkness and she said it was a very good book, but kind of hard to understand. I hope to enjoy this book.