Senior Project - The Dance that Couldn't Happen

Literary Analysis (REMIX) - The Kite Runner

This is a dance I participated in that depicts the story of The Kite Runner. It focuses on the actual kite running to see the happier parts of the book: the beginning where Hassan runs Amir's kite and the ending when Amir runs Hassan's son's kite.

AP Practice Essays

Groupthink

My group mostly discussed the poem I chose, "The Road Not Taken." I believe I had a good understanding of this poem, but it was nice to hear what the others thought as well. We all believed that there was a sort of struggle that was occurring. Some believed it was a choice that the character had to make while others believed it could also be something that was forced onto another. I say it could be either when only the first two stanzas are read. By the third and fourth however I see it as two options being presented, one more difficult than the other, and that you have to choose between those that are given. And then by choosing the more difficult one there will be more benefits.

Gridlock

Poem Analysis (TPCASTT ) of 'The Road Not Taken'

• Title: I believe the title means that are two different paths to choose from and that one of them, more often than not, isn't taken.
• Paraphrase: This poem could literally be about two paths in some type of forest, but I believe its really just about two choices going around in someone's head.
• Connotation: "Two roads diverged in a wood, and I, I took the one less traveled by" This means that there were two options in this persons life and they had to make a difficult choice. They chose to go where many don't, probably because it wasn't the easy way out.
• Diction: I think the words chosen by Robert Frost were smart and eloquent because this poem can be understood by many because it doesn't have big, scary words that you need a dictionary for. He wanted his message to be heard by all.
• Attitude: The person in the story seemed determined to find whatever he/she was looking for.
• Tone: This poem is very calming which I think is needed because it really makes you think about life and which paths you want to pursue.
• Shift(s): The person seems to be intrigued by the path that most people take, but in the end he decides to take the one most people avoid noting how much it was worth it.
• Title revisited: The title now seems to explain that there is a path that isn't followed, but it should be and that's what the person in this poem decides.
• Theme: The central message I believe is to know every option you have and to pursue the more difficult one because in the end it could change your life.

Seventh Reading

The Road Not Taken - Robert Frost

Two roads diverged in a yellow wood,
And sorry I could not travel both
And be one traveler, long I stood
And looked down one as far as I could
To where it bent in the undergrowth;

Then took the other, as just as fair,
And having perhaps the better claim
Because it was grassy and wanted wear,
Though as for that the passing there
Had worn them really about the same,

And both that morning equally lay
In leaves no step had trodden black.
Oh, I marked the first for another day!
Yet knowing how way leads on to way
I doubted if I should ever come back.

I shall be telling this with a sigh
Somewhere ages and ages hence:
Two roads diverged in a wood, and I,
I took the one less traveled by,
And that has made all the difference.

Open Essay Prompts - Carrie by Stephen King

1. In some works of literature the insanity (or period of insanity) of a main character plays a central role. Choose a novel or play of literary merit and write a well-organized essay in which you discuss the mental illness of a central character and the specific ways in which that character’s mental illness relates to the larger themes of the work.

2. In some works of literature, mothers or the concept of motherhood play central roles. Choose a novel or play of literary merit and write a well-organized essay in which you discuss a maternal character and the specific ways the character and the concept of maternity relate to the larger themes of the work.

3. Novels and plays often include scenes of weddings, funerals, parties, and other social occasions [PROM]. Such scenes may reveal the values of the characters and the society in which they live. Select a novel or play that includes such a scene and, in a focused essay, discuss the contribution the scene makes to the meaning of the work as a whole.

---None of these prompts were meant specifically for Carrie, but I believe that they could all be responded to with this book in mind.

Literature Analysis - The Grapes of Wrath

GENERAL
1. This book is about the Joad family who first goes through the hardship of being kicked off the land they farmed for years and being left with nothing. They didn't know what to do, but they were told that there was work for farmers in California. And so like everybody else in there position they migrate to California. Their large family packs into their car and does whatever they can to get food and simply survive.
2. I think the theme can be shown with a quote from the movie Finding Nemo, "Just keep swimming, just keep swimming, just keep swimming swimming swimming, what do we do? we swim!" The life of the Joad family was drastically altered and so the main message is to continue on, even though it's difficult.
3. The author's tone fit right in with the feeling of the family. They were down and depressed, so the author gave off the feeling of hopelessness. I think his use of the mini stories of the lives of other people really helped the story along just to show how bad things were for the people during this time.

CHARACTERIZATION
1. The author uses direct characterization when he describes what people look like and how they are as a person. He makes his writing interesting then by using indirect characterization by having the characters show who they are through their actions and words. (We learn what Tom looks like in the beginning when describing his clothes after he got out of jail and we learn what Pa thinks of Connie based on what he says after Connie runs off and leaves the family.)
2. I think the author's writing is pretty stable throughout the book. He used the language that the characters would understand which is somewhat broken English. (This is in a way irony because throughout the book nothing stays the same, things are broken and left behind, but the words are always the same.)
3. I believe Tom Joad is mostly a static, flat character. In the very beginning of the story we learn he was convicted of manslaughter due to him getting hot-headed in a bar and then towards the end of the book he avenges the death of Casy without a second glance. I can't say that this is necessarily a good or a bad thing, but throughout all their hardships Tom remained the same.
4. I feel like I read a character because I have never been anywhere close to the situation that this family went through. Also Tom is a convicted felon and I tend to stay away from those types of people...

AP Test Resources

http://apcentral.collegeboard.com/apc/Controller.jpf
http://ozpk.tripod.com/AP
http://www.apstrategies.org/
http://www.phschool.com/advanced/lesson_plans/building_success/ap_test_taking_techniques.html
http://library.thinkquest.org/28751/info/strategies.html

Brave New World (Ch.7)

During this chapter we learn some aspects of life on a savage reservation. We see the diseases the people have, the babies they produce, and their horrific way of sacrificing (slashing someone with a whip until they fall and then giving away the blood from their back). All the while Lenina is frantic and dislikes everything, whereas Bernard finds it all very interesting. They then come across a man that looks like them, not dark skin toned like the other Indians. His name is John and they learn that his mother was a woman from their world. Bernard and Lenina are shocked! They then meet her and realize that the father of John is indeed the Director! Crazy news. Also Linda speaks how much she misses her old life.

Brave New World (Ch.6)

During this chapter we see consecutive dates that Lenina and Bernard go on together on a vacation to America. Lenina doesn't really understand Bernard and finds him very odd, but she accepts to go wherever he wants to. They begin with trite stuff that every person in this new world does and Bernard didn't like this idea. He decided to take Lenina on a helicopter ride to overlook the ocean because he found it peaceful. Lenina however found it extremely frightening and wanted to leave immediately (taught to hate nature). After this little adventure, Bernard decides he's going to take Lenina to a savage reservation to see how they live. Upon getting a permit signed by the Director, it becomes known that he was similar to Bernard in the idea that he once cared for another more than he should. The Director became flustered after he spoke of this and warned Bernard that he must change his ways unless he wants to be sent away. Bernard leaves and then travels with Lenina to the reservation. Before entering they meet the Warden who is a dull character that simply states what life is like inside. An important thing he mentions is that they trained the savages so that when they do something wrong they are severely punished.

Lit. Terms Applied

Lets just say that the quiz we had in class today was ridiculously difficult and I mean that in the nicest way possible. First off, I know most of the literary terms pretty well but I am still getting used to finding them being used in a text. Therefore giving us only 20 seconds to read the text and then find them, define them, and explain why they were used was extremely hard. There was no rhyme or reason to keep the pace the same. Once I finished reading the text, it would be gone and replaced by another. When we finally got to look at it again I had to reread it to simply to remember what it said but then still leave time to find an example of a lit term. I think the idea behind the quiz was good, but taking it and then reflecting on it now, all I really remembering was being flustered that I didn't have enough time.

Brave New World (Ch.4-5)

Throughout these two chapters we learn something about the author's writing style. He very much enjoys using puns, especially ones that are sexual oriented. They are mostly easy to spot and are somewhat uncomfortable to read about, but it gets the reader to really understand the time the author writes about. Also in these chapters we see what a date is like between Lenina and Henry. It started with a helicopter ride and then went straight to dancing to the music stylings of the 'sexophones'. It ended with them in his apartment clearly hinting at what would happen next. Also we see Bernard participating in what seems like a sort of sex/happiness orgy. However he didn't get the feelings everybody else did. This goes to show that he is very different from the other people that surround him in this world. A recurring item are 'soma' tablets and I believe these are what help endive their happiness.

Brave New World (Ch.2-3)

Throughout these chapters this book has become more of a story. We learn of different characters and what the interactions are supposed to be like. Also how the infant clones are taught and how they live life. One example would be when the clones are little they are taught to love themselves and dislike anybody who is in a different 'class' than they are. They are taught this through sleep-teaching where this idea becomes engrained into their minds. Also the 'teachers' are cruel with their ways of teaching. Another example would be that they don't want the infants to like books or nature so they set them up in a room where there are books and flowers. This seems fine, until one of the clones touches either. After this occurs they are electrocuted and alarms go off. They do this to associate these items with pain. Then as they grow older they are taught that family life was horrible back in the day and that it's not something you want. They do however want the girls to be promiscuous, but to not be part of a serious relationship. Lets just say, life is strange in this new world. Information is jumbled throughout the text so the reader must really pay attention to understand it all.

Brave New World (Ch. 1)

When I first started this book I was easily confused. The language was different and obviously the things the author wrote about were very different from what I was used to. However after a discussion in class, it started to make much more sense. This story takes place in the distant future and is what the author believes will come of our world. Rather than creating mankind the normal way, the people of this time have found a way to clone embryos and then grow them from nothing. They are categorized based on the way they are brought up (basically whether they will be useful or not). We learn very little of the people in the first chapter, but are taught the way in which these clones come to be.

First Quarter Review

1) Evaluate your performance so far this semester by explaining how you've done on required assignments and how you have moved forward on your Sr. Project/BQ/CWG;
---I believe I have kept up with the assignments that have been due during this grading period. I have many other things that occupy my time so I do as much when I can. As for my Senior Project I was at somewhat of a loss up until this Friday. I was planning on basing my project after the process of achieving my SMART goal (getting a dance solo for a performance I'm in), but it didn't exactly pan out as planned. Therefore Dr. Preston had me think about it harder, what is the reason for my dancing? Within seconds I responded with self-expression, so I now believe I will base my project on that and how it has shapes who I am today.

2) List your goals and expectations of yourself for the next quarter.
---I hope to continue on a path where I achieve earning high grades in all of my classes and also trying my hardest whenever I dance. (Maybe get some sleep in there)

3) Make suggestions for course content/process.
---Maybe some more freestyle posts on our blogs?..

Literary Terms 101-139

Pun: play on words; the humorous use of a word emphasizing different meanings or applications.

Purpose: the intended result wished by an author.

Realism: writing about the ordinary aspects of life in a straightfoward manner to reflect life as it actually is.

Refrain: a phrase or verse recurring at intervals in a poem or song; chorus.

Requiem: any chant, dirge, hymn, or musical service for the dead.

Resolution: point in a literary work at which the chief dramatic complication is worked out; denouement.

Restatement: idea repeated for emphasis.

Rhetoric: use of language, both written and verbal in order to persuade.

Rhetorical Question: question suggesting its own answer or not requiring an answer; used in argument or persuasion.

Rising Action: plot build up, caused by conflict and complications, advancement towards climax.

Romanticism: movement in western culture beginning in the eighteenth and peaking in the nineteenth century as a revolt against Classicism; imagination was valued over reason and fact.

Satire: ridicules or condemns the weakness and wrong doings of individuals, groups, institutions, or humanity in general.

Scansion: the analysis of verse in terms of meter.

Setting: the time and place in which events in a short story, novel, play, or narrative poem occur.

Simile: a figure of speech comparing two essentially unlike things through the use of a specific word of comparison.

Soliloquy: an extended speech, usually in a drama, delivered by a character alone on stage.

Spiritual: a folk song, usually on a religious theme.

Speaker: a narrator, the one speaking.

Stereotype: cliché; a simplified, standardized conception with a special meaning and appeal for members of a group; a formula story.

Stream of Consciousness: the style of writing that attempts to imitate the natural flow of a character’s thoughts, feelings, reflections, memories, and mental images, as the character experiences them.

Structure: the planned framework of a literary selection; its apparent organization.

Style: the manner of putting thoughts into words; a characteristic way of writing or speaking.

Subordination: the couching of less important ideas in less important structures of language.

Surrealism: a style in literature and painting that stresses the subconscious or the nonrational aspects of man’s existence characterized by the juxtaposition of the bizarre and the banal.

Suspension of Disbelief: suspend not believing in order to enjoy it.

Symbol: something which stands for something else, yet has a meaning of its own.

Synesthesia: the use of one sense to convey the experience of another sense.

Synecdoche: another form of name changing, in which a part stands for the whole.

Syntax: the arrangement and grammatical relations of words in a sentence.

Theme: main idea of the story; its message(s).

Thesis: a proposition for consideration, especially one to be discussed and proved or disproved; the main idea.

Tone: the devices used to create the mood and atmosphere of a literary work; the author’s perceived point of view.

Tongue in Cheek: a type of humor in which the speaker feigns seriousness; a.k.a. “dry” or “dead pan”

Tragedy: in literature: any composition with a somber theme carried to a disastrous conclusion; a fatal event; protagonist usually is heroic but tragically (fatally) flawed

Understatement: opposite of hyperbole; saying less than you mean for emphasis

Vernacular: everyday speech

Voice: The textual features, such as diction and sentence structures, that convey a writer’s or speaker’s persona.

Zeitgeist: the feeling of a particular era in history

BOB 1

I did rank the blogs, but I turned my thoughts into Dr. Preston rather than putting them on here.

I Am Here

So far this semester I believe I have made progress towards my short-term SMART goal. The solo I want was given a few rules and I believe I have followed them. I found beautiful music that I cut so it fits the time frame, but I also think that I convey the story I am supposed to tell. All that were auditioning could choose whatever they want, so I chose my favorite story, "A Walk to Remember." I am anxious to see how it is accepted by my fellow dancers and I hope that I can present it in the future. (I do hope to incorporate this with my senior project, but I have to wait some time to see if I achieve it.)

Literary Terms 81-100

Narrator: one who narrates, or tells, a story.

Naturalism: extreme form of realism.

Novelette/Novella: short story; short prose narrative, often satirical.

Omniscient Point of View: knowing all things, usually the third person.

Onomatopoeia: use of a word whose sound in some degree imitates or suggests its
meaning.

Oxymoron: a figure of speech in which two contradicting words or phrases are combined to produce a rhetorical effect by means of a concise paradox.

Pacing: rate of movement; tempo.

Parable: a story designed to convey some religious principle, moral lesson, or general truth.

Paradox: a statement apparently self-contradictory or absurd but really containing a possible truth; an opinion contrary to generally accepted ideas.

Parallelism: the principle in sentence structure that states elements of equal function should have equal form.

Parody: an imitation of mimicking of a composition or of the style of a well-known artist.

Pathos: the ability in literature to call forth feelings of pity, compassion, and/or sadness.

Pedantry: a display of learning for its own sake.

Personification: a figure of speech attributing human qualities to inanimate objects or abstract ideas.

Plot: a plan or scheme to accomplish a purpose.

Poignant: eliciting sorrow or sentiment.

Point of View: the attitude unifying any oral or written argumentation; in description, the physical point from which the observer views what he is describing.

Postmodernism: literature characterized by experimentation, irony, nontraditional forms, multiple meanings, playfulness and a blurred boundary between real and imaginary.

Prose: the ordinary form of spoken and written language; language that does not have a regular rhyme pattern.

Protagonist: the central character in a work of fiction; opposes antagonist.

Literary Terms 56-80

Genre: a category or class of artistic endeavor having a particular form, technique, or content.

Gothic Tale: a style in literature characterized by gloomy settings, violent or grotesque action, and a mood of decay, degeneration, and decadence.

Hyperbole: an exaggerated statement often used as a figure of speech or to prove a point.

Imagery: figures of speech or vivid description, conveying images through any of the senses.

Implication: a meaning or understanding that is to be arrive at by the reader but that is not fully and explicitly stated by the author.

Incongruity: the deliberate joining of opposites or of elements that are not appropriate to each other.

Inference: a judgement or conclusion based on evidence presented; the forming of an opinion which possesses some degree of probability according to facts already available.

Irony: a contrast or incongruity between what is said and what is meant, or what is expected to happen and what actually happens, or what is thought to be happening and what is actually happening.

Interior Monologue: a form of writing which represents the inner thoughts of a character; the recording of the internal, emotional experience(s) of an individual; generally the reader is given the impression of overhearing the interior monologue.

Inversion: words out of order for emphasis.

Juxtaposition: the intentional placement of a word, phrase, sentences of paragraph to contrast with another nearby.

Lyric: a poem having musical form and quality; a short outburst of the author’s innermost thoughts and feelings.

Magic(al) Realism: a genre developed in Latin America which juxtaposes the everyday with the marvelous or magical.

Metaphor(extended, controlling, and mixed): an analogy that compare two different
things imaginatively.
Extended: a metaphor that is extended or developed as far as the writer
wants to take it.
Controlling: a metaphor that runs throughout the piece of work.
Mixed: a metaphor that ineffectively blends two or more analogies.

Metonymy: literally “name changing” a device of figurative language in which the name of an attribute or associated thing is substituted for the usual name of a thing.

Mode of Discourse: argument (persuasion), narration, description, and exposition.

Modernism: literary movement characterized by stylistic experimentation, rejection of tradition, interest in symbolism and psychology

Monologue: an extended speech by a character in a play, short story, novel, or narrative poem.

Mood: the predominating atmosphere evoked by a literary piece.

Motif: a recurring feature (name, image, or phrase) in a piece of literature.

Myth: a story, often about immortals, and sometimes connected with religious rituals, that attempts to give meaning to the mysteries of the world.

Narrative: a story or description of events.

The Time of My Life

Today during class I decided to work on my SMART Goal by choreographing the solo piece I will be auditioning with next Sunday. It may look like gibberish to anybody besides me, but I promise their is a heartfelt dance in there somewhere.

SMART Goal

Everybody around me seems to already know what they want to do with their lives, but as of right now I have absolutely no idea. Because of that, I have a short term SMART Goal that I am very proud of. Simply stated, I want a solo in this years dance show that the Los Olivos Dance Gallery presents every year. This is my tenth year dancing there and I feel I have deserved it. I am going to work harder than ever and use my time to improve on anything and everything to reach this goal.

What's the Story?

"What is it that makes you want to write songs? In a way you want to stretch yourself into other people's hearts. You want to plant yourself there, or at least get a resonance, where other people become a bigger instrument than the one you're playing. It becomes almost an obsession to touch other people. To write a song that is remembered and taken to heart is a connection, a touching of bases. A thread that runs through all of us. A stab to the heart. Sometimes I think songwriting is about tightening the heartstrings as much as possible without bringing on a heart attack." -Keith Richards

Why did Charles Dickens write the novel you're reading/reviewing? What in your analysis of literary techniques led you to this conclusion?

Response:
I think that Dickens wrote the novel Great Expectations because he wanted to show that there is good that can come from a horrible situation. Pip lived his life, completely alone and this is what drew him to a life of imagination and fairy-tale. With these thoughts he was able to get passed all the bad stuff that was going on around him and create his new reality. Now this only worked when he was a child, but that was the most important time for it to be so. He grew up, found what was real, and lived on striving for the best. Dickens in a way supports the cliché that 'good always overcomes evil.'

Dickens Map

1) Well since I was sick for an entire week of school I was able to somewhat focus on the book Great Expectations, but now I have so much other work to catch up on that I will squeeze any reading time in when I can.

2)

1. Analyze the character of Pip, Miss Havisham, Estella, and Magitch and their relationships to each other.
2. Explain the impact of a first person protagonist narrator on the story.
3. Discuss Dickens's use of humor, pathos, and occasionally bathos.
4. Identify and explain Dickens's social themes as expressed in this book.
5. Analyze how Dickens creates suspense.

http://www.enotes.com/documents/great-expectations-ap-teaching-unit-79127?action=preview&pg=3

3) I think AP style multiple-choice questions would help us prepare, but I don't think that's how we should be tested. Test-taking has never been a strong point of mine so I would rather do some sort of project to help explain what I know.

Literary Terms 31-55

Dialect: the language of a particular district, class, or group of persons; the sounds , grammar, and diction employed by people distinguished from others.

Dialectics: formal debates usually over the nature of truth.

Dichotomy: split or break between two opposing things.

Diction: the style of speaking or writing as reflected in the choice and use of words.

Didactic: having to do with the transmission of information; education.

Dogmatic: rigid beliefs and principles.

Elegy: a mournful, melancholy poem, especially a funeral song or lament for the dead, sometimes contains general reflections on death, often with a rural or pastoral setting.

Epic: a long narrative poem unified be a hero who reflects the customs, morals, and aspirations of his nation of race as he makes his way through legendary and historic exploits, usually over a long period of time (definition bordering on circumlocution).

Epigram: witty aphorism.

Epitaph: any brief inscription in prose or verse on a tombstone; a short formal poem of commemoration often a credo written by the person who wishes it to be on his tombstone.

Epithet: a short, descriptive name or phrase that may insult someone's character, characteristics.

Euphemism: the use of indirect, mild or vague word or expression for one though to be coarse, offensive, or blunt.

Evocative (evocation): a calling forth of memories and sensation; the suggestion or production through artistry and imagination of a sense of reality.

Exposition: the beginning of a story that sets forth facts, ideas and/or characters, in a detailed explanation.

Expressionism: movement in art, literature, and music consisting of unrealistic representation of an inner idea or feeling.

Fable: a short, simple story, usually with animals as characters, designed to teach a moral truth.

Fallacy: a false or misleading notion, belief, or argument; any kind of erroneous reasoning that makes arguments unsound.

Falling Action: part of the narrative or drama after the climax.

Farce: a boisterous comedy involving ludicrous action and dialogue.

Figurative Language: apt and imaginative language characterized by figures of speech.

Flashback: a narrative device that flashes back to prior events.

Foil: a person that, by contrast, makes another seem better or more prominent.

Folk Tale: a story passed on by word of mouth.

Foreshadowing: in fiction and drama, a device to prepare the reader for the outcome of the action; "planning" to make the outcome convincing, though not to give it away.

Free Verse: verse without conventional metrical pattern, with irregular pattern or no rhyme.

Literary Terms 6-30

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

Analysis: a method in which a worker or idea is separated into its parts, and those parts are 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 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, 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 either the truth or falsity of an idea or proposition; also, the thesis or proposition itself.

Assumption: the act of supposing, or taking for granted a thing one does.

Audience: the intended listener or listeners.

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

Chiasmus: a reversal in the order of words so that the second half or the statement balances the first half in reverse order.

Circumlocution: a roundabout or evasive speech or writing, in which many words are used but a few would have sufficed.

Classicism: art, literature, and music reflecting the principles of ancient Greece and Rome; tradition, reason, clarity, order, and balance.

Cliche: a phrase or situation overused within society.

Climax: the decisive point in a narrative or drama; the point of greatest intensity or interest at which plot question is answered or resolved.

Colloquialism: folksy speech, slang words, or phrases usually used in informal conversation.

Comedy: originally a nondramatic literary piece of work that was marked by a happy ending now a term to describe a ludicrous, farcical, or amusing event designed to provide enjoyment or produce smiles and laughter.

Conflict: struggle or problem in a story causing tension.

Connotation: implicit meaning, going beyond dictionary definition.

Contrast: a rhetorical device by which one element (idea or object) is thrown into opposition to another for the sake of emphasis or clarity.

Denotation: plain dictionary definition.

Denouement (day-new-mahn): loose ends tied up in the story after the climax, closure, conclusion.

Literature Analysis - The Remains of the Day

The Remains of the Day - Kazuo Ishiguro


GENERAL
1. The basic idea of this book is that it's about a man, known simply as Stevens, who is a butler for another man named Mr. Farraday. However he receives a letter from a Miss Kenton and decides to take a five day trip to go see her. (She worked in the same manor as Stevens 20 years prior.) The present isn't exactly what Stevens focuses on though, he looks back at his life to see if he believes he truly lived up to the 'dignity' he thinks he needs to live a fulfilling life (basically be perfect in every aspect, hide your feelings, and obey your masters no matter what), and also the life he may have had with Miss Kenton if he had done things differently. When he finally arrived and met with her, he realized nothing with her was going to change. They both expressed the feelings they once had, which was a huge step for Stevens, but both knew they could not dwell on the past. So Stevens begins to revise his definition of the word dignity and chooses to move forward in his life.

2. The main theme that I see throughout this novel is regret. It's expressed mainly with the life that Stevens could have had with Miss Kenton. On the journey to visit her, he looked back on his life to several different occasions where he believed that if he had done something differently, if he had shown his true feelings then they could have been together and lived a happy life. Stevens then also shows regret when he looks back at how faithful he was to his previous master, Mr. Darlington. Stevens believed he was a good man and in his mind was willing to do anything for his master in hopes of gaining dignity. However Mr. Darlington was a man who dealt with Nazis during WWII. Stevens knows he could have done something, but at the time was to caught up in his vision of perfection that he couldn't swerve away from it.

3. The author's tone was extremely proper and formal. The narrator spoke in a way that would match the setting of this time. This is why it is easily understandable for the character to be so strict, in a sense. He was very focused and set on the path he was in. Also being a butler he wanted to show the people he waited on that he was a gentleman and worthy to be their server.

4. 

• analysis: explored when looking back on his life
• dialect: the author wrote in the way Stevens would think is best
• dogmatic: Stevens had a set definition for the word dignity and did what he did to gain it
• flashback: different situations Stevens thought about
• foil: Mr. Darlington next to Mr. Farraday
• imagery: author used great details to explain each situation
• interior monologue: all of Stevens memories
• motif: Stevens often spoke of learning how to banter
• pathos: audience feels when it's learned that Stevens cries about his life
• poignant: how Miss Kenton feels when learning of her aunt's death

CHARACTERIZATION
1. The author didn't use direct characterization all that much because the main character wasn't a very open person so it seems fit that the audience isn't given much to go on. There are brief descriptions of the people here and there, but that's about it. The author uses indirect characterization when he continually has Stevens walking away from Miss Kenton's door when she's inside crying. Normally people would wait outside or even burst inside to see what was wrong. Stevens was not like them though. He was straight on his path towards gaining dignity. Also we see indirect characterization when Stevens is given a handkerchief at the end of the book. He doesn't outright say that he is crying, but through this simple token we can tell he is sad by that days turn of events.

2. I believe the syntax and diction remains the same throughout the book because it solely about the character, Stevens. It's his life and his thoughts we are exploring. Stevens was proper and a gentleman so the author wrote the book in the way that would match this character.

3. The protagonist is basically static and flat throughout the entire story up until the very end. He lets go of the perfect version he envisions himself to be and is simply a man. He expresses his feelings and shows his emotions. He grows in this stage of his life and changes so as to become the man his sees with his new definition of the word dignity.

4. I believe I read a character mainly because I have never met anybody like this. I have never seen a man so  focused on one path that he shuts out anything that might get in the way of that. Also butlers aren't really needed in America so I don't quite understand their lifestyle.

Poetry Analysis

The Road Not Taken - Robert Frost
Two roads diverged in a yellow wood,
And sorry I could not travel both
And be one traveler, long I stood
And looked down one as far as I could
To where it bent in the undergrowth;
Then took the other, as just as fair,
And having perhaps the better claim,
Because it was grassy and wanted wear;
Though as for that the passing there
Had worn them really about the same,
And both that morning equally lay
In leaves no step had trodden black.
Oh, I kept the first for another day!
Yet knowing how way leads on to way,
I doubted if I should ever come back.
I shall be telling this with a sigh
Somewhere ages and ages hence:
Two roads diverged in a wood, and I-
I took the one less traveled by,
And that has made all the difference.
---I really enjoyed this poem because it's all about the choices we have in life. There's one path you should take and one you want to take. So when you choose the latter, it makes the stuggle all worth it.

Trust - Alisha Ricks
Trust is earned
But once violated
It’s difficult to regain

When do you trust?
Who do you trust?

You trust with your mind
You trust with your heart
You trust with honor
You trust with pride
You trust with expectations
But is putting trust in someone worth it?

Tell me, is it?

I’ve tried to trust
But ended up with betrayal
And cannot allow it to occur again

I opened my mind
Opened my heart
But only received
A shattered heart
Now I know not to trust so easily
 ---This poem is clearly about having issues with letting yourself be open with someone. I find this poem to be very true and also relatable to many people in this world.

Touched by An Angel - Maya Angelou
We, unaccustomed to courage
exiles from delight
live coiled in shells of loneliness
until love leaves its high holy temple
and comes into our sight
to liberate us into life.

Love arrives
and in its train come ecstasies
old memories of pleasure
ancient histories of pain.
Yet if we are bold,
love strikes away the chains of fear
from our souls.

We are weaned from our timidity
In the flush of love's light
we dare be brave
And suddenly we see
that love costs all we are
and will ever be.
Yet it is only love
which sets us free.
---I enjoy this poem because it speaks of the immensity of love and how easily it can change us. It may scare us, but it's something we should strive for.

I Am Not Yours - Sara Teasdale
I am not yours, not lost in you,
Not lost, although I long to be
Lost as a candle lit at noon,
Lost as a snowflake in the sea.

You love me, and I find you still
A spirit beautiful and bright,
Yet I am I, who long to be
Lost as a light is lost in light.

Oh plunge me deep in love -- put out
My senses, leave me deaf and blind,
Swept by the tempest of your love,
A taper in a rushing wind.
---This poem speaks as though someone if so deeply in love, but doesn't want to admit it. This person doesn't want to lose their self nor belong to another.

Love, Laughter, And You - Harry J. Couchon Jr
Three things that make my life complete
Are love, laughter, and you, my sweet
The laughter has lasted since day one
Loving you darling, has been so much fun

Whether it's giggles at the kitchen table
Or all out laughter wherever we're able
Each and every laugh, a symbol of our love
You're my everything, all I ever dreamt of

Our love, now that's a bit more serious
Shining through when our laughter is delirious
Starting the day with love's tenderness
Saying goodnight with a sweet caress

Love, laughter, and of course you.
You bring into my life the other two
From the day we met, and for every single day
Love and laughter in our lives will stay
---This poem is very sweet, easygoing, and from what I can tell is genuine. The rhyming is somewhat strange here and there but all in all I liked it.

Literary Terms 1-5

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

• Ex: Sally sold seashells by the seashore.

2) Analogy: a similarity between two things, on which a comparison may be based

• Ex: You are as annoying as nails on a chalkboard.

3) Cliché: anything that has become commonplace through overuse

• Ex: All for one, and one for all.

4) Inversion: words out of order for emphasis

• Ex: United there is little we cannot do.

5) Oxymoron: a figure of speech by which a locution produces a seemingly self-contradictory effect

• Ex: True lies.

Spring Semester Plan 1

Now is the time when people want a serious answer when it comes to the goals we want to achieve, the people we want to be, and the lives we want to have and live in our future, but what if we have absolutely no idea?!....As of right now I'm focusing on my dancing and the education that I receive at my school. My peers and friends all seem to have a basic ideas of what they want to be doing in their future, so is it bad that I don't? Dr. Preston seems to always say that an open mind is a good thing so that's how I am going to stay for now. As I live, learn, and explore new things I will hopefully find something I truly love and then finally strive to achieve it.

AP PREP POST 1: SIDDHARTHA

What's In This For Me

Honestly, English has never really been 'my' subject. I have always been the person that is considered strange because math actually makes sense to me! Anyways, I find reading enjoyable, but writing as basically the bane of my existence. I never seem to be able to get my ideas onto paper in an interesting way or even make sense really. So this semester I could say that I want to improve my writing, but I know that this isn't a practical notion when applied to myself. Therefore I would rather use the technology around me and find that spark to hopefully keep me fully focused and excited about the assignments we do. I want to enjoy this class and learn new things to help me in the future....and maybe help me pass the AP test!