Thursday, October 30, 2014

Hamlet Remix of the Remix



Hamlet notes

I, II
A little more than kin, and less than kind. 
- an aside and hamlet said this
- situational irony
- audience knows something audience doesn't
- hamlet doesn't like Claudius 
- hamlet doesn't show his feelings and savy decision maker. Knows what he wants
- blowing Claudia off
- grief is just on outside. Hamlet doesn't show on his face that he is grieving. Just tradition
- you can do grievance tradition but that doesn't mean you are unhappy. Yiu don't know me is what hamlet is trying to say. Calling people out but hamlet is actually going through something real rather than showing 
- Claudius just criticizes hamlet grievances. Making hamlet seem unfit for king and Claudius wants hamlet to stay close. Contradictory
- first monologue: mortified of his situation, wishes suicide wasn't sin, doesn't want to see or experience what's going on, directing anger at mom, just saying how much this sucks and wants to leave, points out what's sinful and what's not to make himself moral to audience 
- investigating when asking questions about dad ghost
- fact based questions. All about the details. Contradicts monologue tone which shows how matter of fact attitude and mental health. Hamlet is respectful guy. 
- hamlet is said to stay back and not study abroad compared to other guy who was allowed to just leave
- based on hamlets mothers wishes but really wants to keep an eye on him
- polonuis is a ouppet master inthe court 
-moms allegiance is to power
- tone of author is important of how we interpret characters. Multiple meanings and do you know text well enough to analyze techniques 
III
Laertes degrades sister by telling her she isn't good enough for hamlet an that she needs to be careful around him
Ophelia “snaps her fingers” and gives sas right back to Laertes and tells him to pretty much not be a hypocrite 
Polonuis tells Laertes before he leaves for paris(have him looking at a pic of the Eiffel tower or something) on how to be a man and have integrity: keep to himself, don't act on impulse, treat others kindly, embrace new friends, slow to fight, listen, dress to impress, don’t borrow or lend money, stay true to self ( do little actions for all of these)
Polonuis gives same advice to ophelia as Laertes did and she says that she sees through hamlets pronounced love and will obey her father
something about spying?
IV
-" something is rotten in the state of Denmark "
-metaphor that Claudius is the "snake" that killed hamlets father 
- mom knows that Claudius killed father and Claudius seduced mom and she left her husband 
- dad in purgatory because he couldn't repent his sins 
- instant death 
- dad tells hamlet not to punish mom and just leave her but punish Claudius
- dad tells hamlet to take revenge 
- "I have sworn it" hamlet states after talking to dad. Conflict in hamlet is whether or not to actually kill someone. He knows he wants to avenge father 
- finally has clarification and is happy
- "there are more things in heaven and earth horatio than are dreamt in your philosophy"
-  hamlet is very adamant of horatio and Marcellus swear on his sword that NOTHING will pry the secret from them
- " the time is out of joint: O cursed spite that ever I was born to set it right" meaning to life is to avenge father. 
- hamlet believes that he will be a failure if he doesn't go through with act

actII, scene II
-" what a piece if work is a man". Cliche line. Theme of play and how we are contradictory and are able to creat beauty and destroy it with at the sane time. Powerful 
- hamlet is saying that he is kinda mad and testing g and r
- hamlet tells player 1 to tell story if king who was in scandal and then dies because not righteous
- hamlet is changing play and writing in lines and starting to hatch a plan
-make play resemble fathers murder and watch how Claudius reacts 
-" the plays the thing wherein I will catch the conscience of the king". Starting to beat himself up. Like when you take a test and know you did bad. Compare himself to actor and how actor can cry and feel emotion fir fictional but hamlet can't feel anything. Feels about coward because keeping everything to himself. Alone with no one to give him tough love and has to motivate himself. Compare himself to whore and how words have no meaning like a whores because they always lie. He judges on action. Mentions "the play within the play". Trying to make himself look weak so no one will see him coming

Thursday, October 16, 2014

Literature Analysis #2

1. Exposition-
The primary characters: Amir (protagonist and main character/ narrator)Rahim Kahn( Baba's friend and confident and a father image and support for Amir)  Baba (Amir's father and a wealthy and well respected man in Afghanastan) Ali (Baba's servant and friend and the man whose wife he slept with and with whom he created Hassan)  Hassan (Amir's half brother/friend/servant) Sohrab (Hassan's son) Assef (the bully) and Soraya (Amir's wife).
setting: Kabul, Afghanistan during 1970s when there was trouble with power in Afghan and when the Taliban came into power and destroyed the country 
Give background to class differences and how Hazaras are treated as dirt and servants and have no power. Focuses in Amir when he was a child and he was practically brothers with Hassan who was his servant. They went everywhere together but Amir was always jealous of Hassan and how his father treated Hassan better than him. Hassan was brave and stood up for Amir and Amir turned his back on Hassan one day after a kite flying tournament that Amir won(finally made dad proud) and Amir watched Hassan get sexually assaulted and this guilt lived inside Amir until adult hood. Him and his father left to America before the politics got bad in Afghan and Amir drove off Hassan and his dad Ali who was like a brother to Baba(AMir's dad). In adult life AMir gets married and travels back to visit Rahim, who was always nice to Amir as a child and encouraged his writing, because he was very sick. He gets sent on mission to save Hassan's son after Amir find out Hassan died. The climax is when Amir finds Sohrab who is being held by Assef, the childhood bully, and Sohrab saves Amir from death and they escape. Amir found out that Hassan and him were half brothers and he realized the gravity of what he had done when he was a child; he split up the family and knew why his father cared so much for Hassan and Amir had broken his heart. Initially Sohrab is reserved because he was badly abused but he warms up to Amir who breaks his trust and Sohrab tries to kill himself but Amir saves him and brings him back to America where Sohrab never forgave Amir and became mute until a year later when Amir and Sohrab where flying kites and Amir saw Sohrab smile and this brings the story ending back where it started.
2. The theme is breaking tradition and forgiveness. In the Afghan culture tradition was everything to them. Their image and how they were unified as people. Amir was different than everyone. He wasn't like his father and he felt alone and by himself because he broke thinstradition. He was selfish unlike those around him and this led to disappointment and he even left his country for a better one. When he went back he adopted a Hassan and was friends with one when he was little and that was strnage. He went against his own family instead of uniting with them. When he was a child he witnessed something that haunted him forever and he could never give Hassan what Hassan had given to him, kindness. Hassan died before Amir cold talk to him again and this broke AMir's heart and really exemplified the moral of forgiveness and kindess. Sohrab had to forgive those around him who had hurt him and Amir had to forgive himself and Hassan had to forgive Amir and find the good in him. 
3. The authors tone was remorseful and elf depricating. The narrator and point of view is through the eyes of Amir who is dealing with the troubles of his actions throughout the whole book. Every action he made had a consequence and those hovered over him throughout the book. 
"Hassan had loved me once, loved me in a way that no one ever had or ever would again. He was gone now, but a little part of him lived on."
"I ran because I was a coward. I was afraid of Assef and what he would do to me. I was afraid of getting hurt. That's what I told myself as I turned my back to the alley, to Hassan."
"I wished he would. I wished he'd give me the punishment I craved, so maybe I'd finally sleep at night."
4. -metaphors and similes to give extra info and image of situation and mental state/ mind of Amir.
"Baba had wrestled bears his whole life. Losing his wife. Raising a son by himself. Leaving is beloved homeland. Poverty. Indignity."(pg 174)
-Foreshadow especially with setting to give incite on something bad and preparing the readers of a change of events.
"The sky darkened as a crowd gathered around us."(pg 158)
- irony contradicts what the narrator and reader believe to be true and give depth to characters and their situation
"Strangely, I was glad that someone knew me for who I really was; I was tired of pretending." "I'll never forget the way Baba, being unbreakable, said that, the pain in his plea, the fear."(106,107)
- foil is with Amir his father and Hassan. Father is strong part of Amir and Hassan is kind and forgiving part.
"Do you always have to be a hero? Can't you just let it go for once? But I knew he couldn't- it wasn't in his nature." "That was another thing about Hassan. He always knew when to say the right thing."(pg37)
- stream of consciousness gives insight to Amir has a person and how he chooses to do what he does. The logic behind his actions
"I would have to explain and I would be revealed for what I really was. Baba would never forgive me... I wanted that, to move on, to forget, to start with a clean slate."(105)
- motif instills specific idea to readers
"Hassan held the slingshot pointed directly at Assef's face. His hand trembled with the strain of the pulled elastic band and beads of sweat had erupted on his brow."(pg 42) "His hand was cocked above his shoulder, holding the cup of the slingshot at the end od the elstic band which was pulled all the way back. Sohrab had the slingshot pointed at Assef's face." (pg290)
-symbolism gives deeper meaning to text and message
"It was only a smile, nothing more. A leaf in the woods, shaking in the wake of a startled bird's flight."(371)
-breaking the fourth wall engage the reader and put them in exact situation characters are in
"You open your mouth. Open it so wide your jaws creak. You order your lungs to draw air, NOW, you need air, need it NOW. You want to scream. You would if you could. But you have to breathe to scream. Panic" (pg 121)
- diction sets better image of situation and mood
"'Successful,' Soraya hissed."(182)
- personification helps create sense of reality and feeling
"And I could almost feel the emptiness in Soraya's womb, like it was a living, breathing thing. I'd feel it rising from Soraya and settling between us. Sleeping between us. Like a newborn child."(pg 189)

Characterization:
1. direct: "While Sanaubar's brilliant green eyes and impish face had, rumor has it, tempted countless men into sin, Ali had a congenital paralysis of his lower facial muscles that left him permanently grim-faced." "'Your boss could use some manners'... 'Poor Ray. He hasn't been the same since his daughter died.'"
indirect: "Midway though the speech the wind knocked his hat off and everyone laughed. He turned back to the microphone and said he hoped the building was sturdier than his hat, and everyone laughed again." " Baba and Rahim Khan built a wildly successful carpet-exporting business, two pharmacies, and a restaurant."
These are both examples of direct and indirect examples embedded as both within one. Each one gives a side of a character that is obvious and stated and known by all the other characters but if you think about what is actually being said there is a deeper meaning that enriches the text and depth of every character. Each character is enforced throughout the novel and Amir I think is the only character that truly changed, barely by the end. Most everyone were passionate characters that had strong personalities. 
2. No. The author is constant with his tone of voice. The narrator says things in  great detail and passion in thought. He always adds his opinion or thoughts at the end of explaining something to add the depth of character to the story. He tells in a "matter of fact" voice when explaining situations rather than people.  
"Baba slapped my hand away. 'Haven't I taught you anything?' he snapped. He turned to the grinning soldier." "Outside the walls of that house there was a war raging. But the three of us, in your fathers house, we made our own little haven from it."
3. The protagonist is round but static. Amir is a man that always refuted tradition and he continued to do so even in his adulthood and he was also still a coward and allowed others to dave himself. He was so focused on surviving that he forgot to live his life and love the people he as closest to. He betrayed those closet to him but he eventually forgave himself after he saw the change in Sohrab. 
4. I legit cried during this book. It is such a good and rich book that I felt like I lived the life of Amir and went through the whole experience as him. I felt for Hassan and Amir and Sohrab. I wanted everything to be happy in the end and be ok but it wasn't and that'd the difference between what society has made me and what real life is. I honestly am still sad and mad and happy and excited and nervous after reading the book and I read it 2 weeks ago so I think it did its job. 

Literary Fiction and Empathy

This article was interesting because it got me thinking about stereotypes of the ideal man or woman and how every pop fiction novel has them in it. In all the Disney movies there is this deprived, beautiful maiden who finds her true love and instantly gets married and lives happily ever after. What does that teach us? As a culture we are so inclined to focus on the perfect and ideal rather than what is actually real and I think that is why literary fiction is so influenctial. It teaches us about what is actually in life and the patterns of society rather than about the popular kid in school who didn't get what they wanted or the secretly pretty nerd who needs some popular guy to help her find herself. Life isn't apples and oranges and literary fiction dives into a deeper sense of the word "life" and how we as human beings act in it. Effectively using words is the best and worst thing that can happen. You can degrade someone with your words and push them to harm or you can compliment and nourish people with your words and influence them to shine. In novels there are no pictures that are drawn for people to make their own interpretation about, there are only words and letters on a page that have to get the same effect that a movie or picture does. Novels have no choice but to be influential and change perspectives and through extensive detail and relating to the audience, or not, novels stand out in this day and age and authors have to teach people about themselves rather than the people teaching themselves.

Wednesday, October 15, 2014

Hamlet Act I Scene I

- Horatio, Bernardo, Francisco, Marcellus,
- Guard watching the palace for unknown
- ghost comes and it is the old king which signifies a warning for some future event
- FInd out about the feud of Fortinbras of Norway and his revenge against Hamlet
- allusion to Julius Cesar and tone and diction changed in little excerpt
- want to tell young Hamlet of seeing father
- excerpts of exposition in Horatio's speech

Hamlet Act I Scene II

A little more than kin, and less than kind. 
- an aside and hamlet said this
- situational irony
- audience knows something characters don't doesn't
- hamlet doesn't like Claudius 
- hamlet doesn't show his feelings and savy decision maker. Knows what he wants
- blowing Claudia off
- grief is just on outside. Hamlet doesn't show on his face that he is grieving. Just tradition
- you can do grievance tradition but that doesn't mean you are unhappy. Yiu don't know me is what hamlet is trying to say. Calling people out but hamlet is actually going through something real rather than showing 
- Claudius just criticizes hamlet grievances. Making hamlet seem unfit for king and Claudius wants hamlet to stay close. Contradictory
- first monologue: mortified of his situation, wishes suicide wasn't sin, doesn't want to see or experience what's going on, directing anger at mom, just saying how much this sucks and wants to leave, points out what's sinful and what's not to make himself moral to audience 
- investigating when asking questions about dad ghost
- fact based questions. All about the details. Contradicts monologue tone which shows how matter of fact attitude and mental health. Hamlet is respectful guy. 

Tuesday, October 14, 2014

Hamlet Reaching Out

My plan is to talk to people in the community and get their ideas on Hamlet and how to tackle it or what they think about the play and how they studied it. I will ask teachers at Righetti, English or not, about their ideas on Hamlet and advice for me. I want to do it in person and this way by asking teachers of different subject matters and the same matter I can get different perspectives on the same subject from different biases.

Monday, October 13, 2014

Vocabulary #6

1. abase- verb, to humble or belittle; to lower or reduce in status
ex) Georgie Kind was abased by his boss, Stewart Bossy 
2. abdicate- verb, renounce power or title
ex) His boss was bitter because he had been previously abdicated from his thrown
3. abomination- noun, anything greatly disliked; intense loathing
ex) He was a really bad boss and was the only one that thought this was an abomination
4. brusque- adj, blunt or abrupt in manner
ex) He had a brusque countenance and unpleasant breath and would always spit when he talked
5. saboteur- noun, someone who undermines a cause; to injure or attack in such a manner
ex) Stewart Bossy thought that Georgie Kind was the saboteur who got him released
6. debauchery- noun, excessiveness in pleasure; seduction from duty
ex) He believed that Kind performed debauchery on the higher ranking female officials to get his way
7. proliferate- verb, to increase in number; grow rapidly
ex) This accusation proliferated many rumors about Kind and if he really was what his name insinuated
8. anachronism- noun, something out of place or in wrong time context
ex) The anachronism of the scene looked like it came out of a 1950s movie and it did not fit in with the atmosphere around it
9. nomenclature- noun, set of names for terms used in a specific community
ex) Bossy was using nomenclatures that weren't relevant to the situation at all and many people then began to think he was a little crazy
10. expurgate- verb, to cleanse of moral wrong doings
ex) He then began to expurgate as if he was in a church 
11. bellicose- adj, inclines or eager to fight; aggressively hostile; pugnacious; belligerent
ex) After this he contradicted himself with a bellicose attitude while rolling up his sleeves
12. gauche- adj, lacking social grace; awkward
ex) This was just a gauche situation and everyone was utterly confused as to what to do and what was happening
13. rapacious- adj, predatory; greedy
ex) Kind was not a rapacious guy and he went to give Bossy his sympathy
14. paradox- noun, statement that is contradictory
ex) Kind standing and trying to help Bossy was a paradoxical moment because Bossy had just been trashing Kind and the calm in Kind's face was opposite the chaos in Bossy
15. conundrum- noun, anything that is puzzling
ex) Since this was a conundrum, many people pulled out their phones to get other perspectives on it and this became a viral hit
16. anomaly- noun, deviation from the normal; incongruent; peculiar
ex) It was so popular because it was an anomaly that no one had seen before 
17. ephemeral- adj, lasting a short time
ex) This fame that Kind and Bossy received was ephemeral though because another video was made that as bigger and better than theirs
18. rancorous- adj, bitter; malice; hatred
ex) Kind was content for the experience but the rancorous Bossy couldn't take defeat
19. churlish- adj, rude; difficult to work with
ex) Bossy wanted more but his churlish social skills helped him not get another job
20. precipitous- adj, extremely steep; situation of great peril
ex) Bossy's precipitous situation needed to be solved fast before he ran out of money; Kind offered him a home and they became friends finally. 

Sunday, October 12, 2014

Inspirational Videos

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=N6_583_o54U

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PT-HBl2TVtI

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ikGVWEvUzNM


B) Canterbury Tales Remix

The Canterbury Tales by Geoffrey Chaucer is a tale told by many point of views. It shows the complex ideas of human nature and its tendency to be ironic and counteract the social "norms" that have been ingrained in society's manners. Through direct juxtaposition, Chaucer simultaneously creates a sense of unity through the common theme of differences that is apparent in all the tales told; everyone has flaws and that is the unifying trait.

We create something for out own use by destroying it and then we try to go back and save it. We use, abuse, apologize, and cycle back again. The irony is that we are trying to find something new but the essence of human nature is to recycle back around to what we had before.
Friendship and love is ironic. Humans search their whole lives to find that other person that they can share everything with, but when you find them you hide yourself even more. Your heart turns into a tear drop because you need sadness to know what happiness is and seen in the Canterbury Tales. All the tales revolve around some kind of sad irony and although humorous, they point to the reality of how things were; life was the opposite of what is expected of it.



http://classroom.synonym.com/effects-frame-narrative-1733.html 

In the Canterbury Tales point of view is crucial in the "countenance" of the story. The story is told from only the narrator and how he perceives the others, but readers do not get how the readers perceive themselves or how other characters perceive each other. Readers have to trust the narrator and yet again that is the ironic part of human nature; we are expected to trust someone that we do not know and so we ask questions.








Throughout the prologue the characters were described in both direct and indirect characterization. The wealthier characters who were towards the top of the social pyramid were described more of what they were wearing because that is all they were in that time. The wealthy were just objects of admiration and money whereas the poorer citizens were considered for their character. The lower class was described with more of their profession and character rather than what they wore. Throughout the tales told more depth to the characters are shown and the irony that royals have personality that doesn't match their nice clothing and the lower class was more heavily weighed on their outer appearance that was a direct reflection of who they were which was the opposite of what was intended.


Okay, we are different it's true.
And I don't like to do all the things that you do.
But here's one thing to think through,
You're a lot like me and I'm a lot like you!
-- Robert Alan Silverstein



The moral is that all the classes are the same. They all have their flaws, shown through the technique of irony, and these flaws create the same person. All the characteristics of the different classes of people in the tales all can coalesce into one human being who is both moral and immoral, excessive and limited, licentious and probity. Life in Chaucer's time was black and white but Chaucer was trying to say that human nature is contradiction but that is in all of us and that is what brings us together no matter what title. 


Friday, October 10, 2014

Transmedia Canterbury Tales Style


Inception (2010) Poster
Irony of food


If you’re living with a child in need of daily attitude adjustments, you are not alone!  It is difficult (and even maddening at times), but with God’s grace you can get through it.  We shouldn’t excuse a teen’s behavior or coddle their bad attitudes.  Instead, the most important thing to teach your teen is that they can choose their attitude.  They don’t have to be controlled by their emotions.  They have the power to think correctly and adjust their attitude.
And that’s a powerful lesson for us all.
man_vs_self.jpg
Change is a challengeChange is a fear
Change is the change of mind
Change is a change of attitude
Change is a change of way of life
Change is the change of recognized
Change is the change of mysterious
Change is the change to solitude
Change is the change to perfection
Change is the change to unknown ethics
Change is the change to supremacy
Change is the change to divinity
A change to know the real self


©2014 SALINI.S.NAIR. All rights reserved

Click to preview From Riches to Rags pocket and trade book




characterized by or proceeding from arroganceora sense of superiority, self-importance, orentitlement

Teenager suffers hypothermia after trapping himself in eight-foot-deep hole in sand
Read more: (http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-1209831/Teenager-suffers-hypothermia-trapping-foot-deep-hole-sand.html#ixzz3FiySNPUd)



Indian Society presents many ironical situations
Indian Society presents many ironical situations

Your'e new here.  Aren't you?









                                          

Ironic Innerconnection





I wish I could include something that was universal and that everyone would understand that would tie in my essay together. These ideas are so vague and a reader as to read in between the lines to find the overall message just like the readers in Canterbury Tales has to. I wish I could ass something humorous to this piece or add something that would make this whole essay the theme what I wrote about; make an ironic unified essay.

Thursday, October 9, 2014

My Canterbury tale

Just breath, just think about how you actually got into a school, this school isn't too big, no worries you got this. My words of encourage to myself weren't of much help as I entered the gargantuan colosseum of a classroom. I felt like I should have dressed up for the occasion and my grey t-shirt with blue jeans ,that had that one little rip in the knee for memories sake, and converse didn't really do the trick. I pushed my brown long brown hair behind my ear and marveled at the essence of what I got myself into. The "classroom" wouldn't even be classified as a classroom, that's how big it was and as I chose my seat of death I looked around. I saw the groups of people forming right before me as if in a movie. The goths, the populars, the geeks, the drama clubers, and the jocks all divided up the massive colosseum and made it seem smaller somehow. I was so amazed and popped in my headphones to give this delicate moment an epic theme song. People unconsciously walked to the beat and it led me right into the perfect seat, right in the middle, front of the classroom, in the center of all the "cliques." After all, I still wanted to make a good impression and I wouldn't let the reoccurring images of high school hinder that. I looked around and literally grouped everyone into what I saw them as and I didn't bother them with introducing myself. I was eager to start and end; this class was just another chapter in the book.As I looked around the room and back to myself I wondered where everyone was going in life and what they wanted to do. I didn't want to judge anyone but it was hard to silence out the clothes and personalities of everyone around me. That's when I heard the infamous whiteboard screech. "Class this is only going to be about a fifteen minute class. I will give you the assignment and give you the semester to finish it. This is the only class that is granted with the privilege of being a semester class, so please make the best our of it." I felt my eyes widening to the size of softballs and my hands began to slip from each other's grip as my nerves took over. I only had a few months to design an experiment that had "social enrichment". "What does that even mean?!" I whispered under my breath as I slumped out of class. There were no rules or guidelines and all I had was the faint remembrance of what I had done for my senior masterpiece in high school, but I needed something bigger. I immediately regretted coming to college and I questioned what I was doing with my life and where I wanted to go. I didn't even know what this had to do with anything if I wanted to go into medicine other than the fact that it was social. Cry, laugh, blank, excited, done. I saw all the emotions I felt in the different faces of the people around me. I realized that I had no idea what their names were or their favorite color or even why they were taking this class. I had to learn through looking and as if slapped in the face, my motivation hit me. I would travel to the place of peace atop a mountain of silence to "find" my voice; the Monk Temple of Him. But I had no idea what I was getting into or what I would discover.I literally left the next morning. I had nothing to take with me because I wanted nothing to distract me. I talked to my academic advisor and she was against this journey, as were my parents, but I knew I had to go on it. I finally cajoled her into helping me and she substituted this journey for my study abroad one. I would miss out on going to Europe or overseas to study, when I heard this I was a little reluctant to continue. My baggy clothes and messy hair hid the anxiety and fear I felt inside as I took a cab to the nearest airport. "Where are you off to?" the cab driver asked as he quizzically looked at me. "It's for school," I said and I wondered if he really cared where I was going or if he just wanted some extra money from me. Four o'clock and the warm rain drizzles on my head and I trudge into the empty airport. It was strange that there was rain in the middle of september, but I lost my train of thought when I was forcefully shoved by a half-sprinting person. Five foot and still able to knock me over was little miss Sierra Sanchez. I was astounded when I saw her and she came back to apologize and right when she turned around I saw her grinning from ear to ear. "Hey man! I'm really sorry for knocking you over but I am late and I can't miss my flight!" Before I had anything to say she was off again, like the white rabbit late for his date with the queen, and I would later find out her journey was to Europe. I don't know how but I think I was so tired that I slept walk right through the airport and the next thing I knew I was on a plane next to someone going somewhere. I had no idea where I was getting off or when, but it didn't matter because the flight I was on, I soon learned, was a direct flight to Tibet. Before we took off I got up to use the restroom where, to my surprise, I saw a familiar face. "Shailynn Joseph! How are you? What brings you here on this fine plane?"
"Hey, I'm good, thanks for asking. I am just trying to find a flower to cure this girl I am trying to help."
"Oh man, I am so proud of you. That's amazing."
"Thanks Hannah. I hope it all works out and we need to get together sometime and have lunch with Haley, Judith, and Sierra to catch up!"
"Definitely. We will make it happen. Good to see you!" and as she gave me the same goodbye I walked back to my seat. My eyes had bags like the layers of clothes I had on, my hair was a mixture of bed head and dreadlocks, and I was squished in the middle seat. What got me here, why did I choose to do this adventure, I could of just chosen something easy in America. I periodically looked out the window and saw nothing then would turn and look at the people around me and see one listening to music and another reading a book. Again, I was lost in this complex system of not knowing those around me and the whole point of the experiment was to find my voice. My body shifted back from knowing what to do to becoming lost and I was in an endless maze of disturbia until the girl on my left, listening to music, ask me a question I had never heard from a stranger; "Are you ok?" Was I ok? I had no idea. Did she genuinely care? She had to of asked for a reason. Should I tell her my fear? On a split decision I confessed, "I actually don't think I am, thanks for asking." What followed were the events of something I could have never gotten from a classroom discussion, a family dinner, or even a hangout with my friends; it was a pure uncensored discussion that had no amount of blame, guilt, embarrassment, or praise. There was no one topic that developed but a plethora of priceless moments that constituted for a "discussion", whatever that may mean. " I know the fear you are feeling is scary and you think you don't have the strength, but you do. Everyone has the power to dictate their own lives just as I did after my brother took his own life. Listen to this song I think it will help you organize your thoughts." Nicki Minaji's song Anaconda blared through the earphones and I started to cry with laughter. My cheeks hurt instantly and my head flew backwards with no sound coming out from my larynx. "Sorry wrong song, I was jamming before this." Melancholy and content immediately overtook me as I listened to Fix You by Coldplay and all in the same moment this person, who had been a stranger at the beginning of this flight, had made me cry, laugh, and think. At that moment, I felt enlightened. At that moment, I knew what I wanted to do. At that moment, I was going to do something crazy. I practically jumped up and acted on impulse before I actually had time to think about what I was going to do. As I ran to the front of the plane I looked out the passing windows and saw we were above land and my heart started to beat as faster as my legs were running. All in one motion I grabbed the parachute, put in on my back, opened the door, and jumped. Free falling to death is hard to explain. It's similar to tripping while walking to class and there is this sudden heart attack as you feel the wind rip through your face, but thankfully you catch yourself and all is well. This was like that except ten notches higher. The wind distorted my face and I felt the spit and tears slowly rising and detaching themselves to hover over me. Once I composed myself enough to look below me I heard the words of David Foster Wallace's This is Water. This was my water and this is what my life was up to this point. I had been so influenced by a stranger and so encapsulated by a discussion that I hadn't even learned the girl's name. That was the essence and beauty of it all; I didn't need to know her name or the things that defined her from others' perspective all I got were these moments that would develop into something more than a plane conversation. This "lollipop" moment was the purpose of my experiement. I hadn't traveled to the Temple of Him or learned the ways of the monks, but I was skydiving and had found my niche without the treacherous journey. I could start a conversation and learn more from someone without using my eyes than if I did have them and had the ability to judge. Within moments I was in and out of a dream and I soon realized I was approaching ground and I needed to deploy my safety. Despite all the horrible movies of the pull getting stuck, mine did not and I successfully landed on the ground with minor bruises. As I hit the ground it felt like a thousand bricks hitting my body at once and I was dragged and blinded by the parachute until the world stopped spinning. I detached myself, as my tears had in free fall, and I found my way home; I hitch-hiked. My role was reversed, now I was the one on the road and others were scared of me and stared at me as if I was this extraterrestrial being they had never seen. I thankfully got a ride with yet more strangers, but it felt as if I had known them before. They weren't strangers, just others like myself who had ideas and no ways of showing them. I had worn the same clothes for twenty-four hours and my hair and face were the same but my eyes were different. I still never learned the names of those who took me home to San Diego, but it didn't matter. The semester passed and I continued to develop my experiment and conclusion to the assignment and I walked into the class the day of presentations and I looked around and saw faces. Some had freckles, some had widow's peaks, some had beards, some had smiles, and some had blank stares. I sat in the middle yet again, but this time I was there for a reason. "Ok class this is the day. Don't disappoint. Hannah Hurd you're first." I stood up where I sat, looked everyone in the eyes and told my story. "It all started and ended where we began, how ironic..."

Wednesday, October 8, 2014

Canterbury Outline

intro:
-talk about history behind the canterbury tales as a whole and point of using irony and how it adds to story.
-thesis

Bodies:
- analyze specific example of irony and how it ties to the unity of the theme of tales within the cooks tale
- portray the story genre that this specific story tells
- show how this specific theme reinforced overarching theme of irony and what techniques used to portray this image
- my take and extra info that apply to modern life to make comparisons?

Conclusion:
- restate thesis
- reiterate idea of irony within Canterbury tales and give more depth to what tales is and why its important
- end with importance of irony/theme

Green Eggs and Hamlet

a) I have heard that it is a tragedy and I think The Lion KIng is loosely based on it so key people die. It is based on a young man and his life decisions. Don;t know what the melancholy dane is but I am going to guess someone who has no extreme personality or emotional waves and is a man???
b) I know Shakespeare lived a long time ago and he wrote some historical tragedies that define literature. He is a mysterious concept and he was extremely troubled which led to his creativism(that's not a word but it should be).
c) It is an intimidating subject and many people don;t ant to put the time and effort into understanding such complex ideas as Shakespeare and his point of view. Times were different back then and some people have no interest in learning about them.
d) We can... not read it haha just kidding. We can humor the pronunciation of the words and just the words in general and how life was back then and just have fun with it and not take it too seriously but find a balance between knowing what we have to know and learn and laughing about the process. Just understanding it will be fun.

The Point of Canterbury Tales is...

The Canterbury Tales by Geoffrey Chaucer is a tale unity. Through combinations of different backgrounds and perspectives, Chaucer creates a sense of community within a group of differences that ultimately led to the idea of universal connection. Human nature is the essence of contradiction and irony and this theme is constant throughout the tales and Chaucer's writing style.

Monday, October 6, 2014

Vocab # 5

1. Shenanigans- Noun mischief; prankishness; deceit; trickery
ex) Tom's shenanigans got him in trouble with his owner.
2. Ricochet- Noun the motion of an object or a projectile in rebounding or deflecting one or more times from the surface over which it is passing or against which it hits a glancing blow; rebound
ex) The tipping point was when he tried to ricochet a cannon off the wall to hit Jerry but the ball ended up tearing through the side of the house.
3. Schism- Noun division or disunion, especially into two parties; church or state related
ex) This created a schism between cat and mouse.
4. eschew- verb to abstain or keep away from; shun; avoid
ex) Tom tried to avoid Jerry so he wouldn't get into trouble yet again.
5. plethora- noun overabundance; excess
ex) Jerry tried a plethora of actions to get Tom to chase him, but nothing worked.
6. ebullient- adjective overflowing with fervor, enthusiasm, or excitement; high spirited
ex) Jerry tried to keep an ebullient attitde towards the whole situation but his hopes were dwindling.
7. garrulous- adjective excessively talkative in a rambling, roundabout manner, especially about trivial manners; wordy or diffuse
ex) So he tried a new, garrulous approach where he would just annoy Tom into chasing him by talking to him.
8. harangue- noun a scolding or long or intense verbal attack; long pompous speech or writing; sermonizing lecture
ex) Jerry did not get the warm welcome he was expecting but instead got a harangue from Tom which made Jerry sad and he just schlumped away.
9. interdependence- noun the quality or condition of being interdependent; mutually reliant on each other
ex) Both the cat and the mouse were interdependent on one another to keep each other company and when one side was broken, both Jerry and Tom were lost.
10. capricious- adjective subject to, led by, or indicative of a sudden odd notion or unpredictable change; erratic; fanciful; witty
ex)The capricious situation of Tom and Jerry is a classic and anything can happen.
11. loquacious- adjective talking or tending to talk much or freely; talkative; babbling; wordy
ex) To Jerry's surprise, his loquacious approach actually did work and when he woke up he saw a cheese trap waiting for him outside his door.
12. ephemeral- adjective lasting a very short time; short lived; transitory
ex) This was a classic, ephemeral trick by Tom who was waiting just outside Jerry's door to pounce.
13. inchoate- adjective not yet completed or fully developed; rudimentary; not organized
ex ) Tom admitted that this inchoate plan was most likely not going to work but he had a well organized umbrella plan.
14. juxtapose- verb to place close together or side by side especially for a comparison or contrast
ex) He juxtaposed the sweet temptation with the sour nature of the trap to help lure Jerry out of his den.
15. perspicacious- adjective having a keen mental perception and understanding; discerning
ex) Tom had done this many times and had a perspicacious hand at performing this trick.
16. codswallop- noun nonsense; rubbish
ex) The owner watched this event all unfold and believed it to be codswallop for Tom to trick Jerry; all he needed to do was just straight-up swipe him.
17. mungo- noun a low grade wol from felted rags or waste; shoddy
ex) The trick was quite mungo and the owner thought of a better way to trap Jerry.
18. sesquipedalian- adjective given to using long words; a word containing many syllables
ex) To distract Tom from his horrible revenge tactic, the owner talked like a sesquipedalian orator and mixed a bunch of food items into one sentence.
19. wonky- adjective shaky; groggy; unsteady; unreliable; not trustworthy; stupid; boring
ex) Tom just looked at his owner like he was a wonky person and while they both were distracted on each other Jerry came out and snatched the cheese.
20. diphthong- noun an unsegmentable, gliding speech sound varying continuously in phonetic quality but held to be a single sound and identified by beginning and end sound; digraph
ex) At the end of the episode, the diphthong sounded and all was well until the next adventure with Tom and Jerry.