Abortive- failing to produce the intended result
Bruit- spread a report or rumor widely
Contumelious- scornful and insulting behavior
Dictum- a formal pronouncement from an authoritative source; a short statement that expresses a general truth or principle
Ensconce- establish or settle
Iconoclastic- characterized by attack on established beliefs or institutions
In medias res- a narrative that begins somewhere in the middle of a story rather than the beginning
Internecine- destructive to both sides in a conflict
Maladroit- ineffective or bungling; clumsy
Maudlin- self-pitying or tearfully sentimental, often through drunkenness
Modulate- exert a modifying or controlling influence on
Portentous- of or like a portent; done in a pompously or overly solemn manner
Prescience- the power to foresee the future
Quid pro quo- a favor or advantage granted in return for something
Salubrious- health-giving, healthy; pleasant, not run-down
Saturnalia- the ancient Roman festival of Saturn in December; an occasion of wild revelry
Touchstone- a standard or criterion by which something is judged or recognized
Traumatic- emotionally disturbing or distressing; relating to or causing psychological trauma
Vitiate- spoil or impair the quality or efficiency of; destroy or impair the legal validity of.
Waggish- humorous in a playful, mischievous, or facetious manner
Monday, October 22, 2012
Monday, October 8, 2012
Vocabulary List #8
Abeyance- A state of temporary disuse or suspension.
Ambivalent- Having mixed feelings or contradictory ideas about something or someone.
Beleaguer- Beset with difficulties
Carte blanche- Complete freedom to act as one wishes or thinks best.
Cataclysm- A sudden violent upheaval, esp. in a political or social context
Debauch- Destroy or debase the moral purity of; corrupt.
- A bout of excessive indulgence in sensual pleasures, esp. eating and drinking
éclat- brilliant or conspicuous success
Fastidious- Very attentive to and concerned about accuracy and detail
Gambol- Run or jump about playfully
Imbue- Inspire or permeate with a feeling or quality: "imbued with deep piety".
Inchoate- Just begun and so not fully formed or developed
Lampoon- Publicly criticize (someone or something) by using ridicule or sarcasm.
- A speech or text criticizing someone or something in this way
Malleable- Easily influenced; pliable
Nemesis- The inescapable or implacable agent of someone's or something's downfall
Opt- Make a choice from a range of possibilities
Philistine- A person who is hostile or indifferent to culture and the arts, or who has no understanding of them
Picaresque- Of or relating to an episodic style of fiction dealing with the adventures of a rough and dishonest but appealing hero
Queasy- Nauseated; feeling sick
Refractory- Stubborn or unmanageable
Savoir-faire- The ability to act or speak appropriately in social situations.
Ambivalent- Having mixed feelings or contradictory ideas about something or someone.
Beleaguer- Beset with difficulties
Carte blanche- Complete freedom to act as one wishes or thinks best.
Cataclysm- A sudden violent upheaval, esp. in a political or social context
Debauch- Destroy or debase the moral purity of; corrupt.
- A bout of excessive indulgence in sensual pleasures, esp. eating and drinking
éclat- brilliant or conspicuous success
Fastidious- Very attentive to and concerned about accuracy and detail
Gambol- Run or jump about playfully
Imbue- Inspire or permeate with a feeling or quality: "imbued with deep piety".
Inchoate- Just begun and so not fully formed or developed
Lampoon- Publicly criticize (someone or something) by using ridicule or sarcasm.
- A speech or text criticizing someone or something in this way
Malleable- Easily influenced; pliable
Nemesis- The inescapable or implacable agent of someone's or something's downfall
Opt- Make a choice from a range of possibilities
Philistine- A person who is hostile or indifferent to culture and the arts, or who has no understanding of them
Picaresque- Of or relating to an episodic style of fiction dealing with the adventures of a rough and dishonest but appealing hero
Queasy- Nauseated; feeling sick
Refractory- Stubborn or unmanageable
Savoir-faire- The ability to act or speak appropriately in social situations.
Monday, October 1, 2012
Friday, September 28, 2012
Hamlet: because my computer is old and doesn't let me post comments.
1)What is the play about?
Hamlet is a play written by Shakespeare, he writes of Hamlet wanting revenge on his uncle. Hamlet's father comes to him as a ghost and tells him that his own brother is the very person that poisoned him. The brother of the king ends up marrying Hamlet's mother becoming the king. Hamlet is angry and tells the brother that he knows what has happened. The brother plans to kill Hamlet, but ends up killing himself and several others.
2)Why is interpreting the play such a challenge? Why doesn't everyone agree on what it means?
Interpreting it is a challenge because people all over the world were taught differently so they all get something different out of it, which is also why they can't agree on what it means.
Find a minimum of three other learning communities that are studying Hamlet:
Hamlet is a play written by Shakespeare, he writes of Hamlet wanting revenge on his uncle. Hamlet's father comes to him as a ghost and tells him that his own brother is the very person that poisoned him. The brother of the king ends up marrying Hamlet's mother becoming the king. Hamlet is angry and tells the brother that he knows what has happened. The brother plans to kill Hamlet, but ends up killing himself and several others.
2)Why is interpreting the play such a challenge? Why doesn't everyone agree on what it means?
Interpreting it is a challenge because people all over the world were taught differently so they all get something different out of it, which is also why they can't agree on what it means.
Find a minimum of three other learning communities that are studying Hamlet:
Thursday, September 27, 2012
"Pre-Will"questions
a) What do you know about Hamlet, the "Melancholy Dane"?
As far as my answer goes right now is I know that we are going to be reading about him a lot, and he is a solemn character.
b) What do you know about Shakespeare?
I know he is famous for all the plays he has written and that no one knows exactly who he was, some historians think it might have been multiple people even.
c) Why do so many students involuntarily frown when they hear the name "Shakespeare"?
I think it's because it is sometimes boring and long and sometimes hard to understand.
d) What can we do to make studying this play an amazing experience we'll never forget?
We could focus on it and go through what any little thing that is confusing so it all makes sense.
As far as my answer goes right now is I know that we are going to be reading about him a lot, and he is a solemn character.
b) What do you know about Shakespeare?
I know he is famous for all the plays he has written and that no one knows exactly who he was, some historians think it might have been multiple people even.
c) Why do so many students involuntarily frown when they hear the name "Shakespeare"?
I think it's because it is sometimes boring and long and sometimes hard to understand.
d) What can we do to make studying this play an amazing experience we'll never forget?
We could focus on it and go through what any little thing that is confusing so it all makes sense.
Monday, September 24, 2012
Vacabulary List #7
aberration - an optical phenomenon resulting from the failure of a
lens or mirror to produce a good image; a disorder in one's mental
state; a state or condition markedly different from the norm
ex/ My friend Alyssa is an aberration.
Ad hoc- for the special purpose or end presently under consideration
ex/ I sometimes stop a conversation after ad hoc.
bane - something causes misery or death
ex/ I now understand why they call him Bane.
bathos - triteness or triviality of style; a change from a serious subject to a disappointing one; insincere pathos
ex/ Bad climaxes end up in bathos.
cantankerous - having a difficult and contrary disposition; stubbornly obstructive and unwilling to cooperate
ex/ The "bad boy" was cantankerous.
casuistry - moral philosophy based on the application of general ethical principles to resolve moral dilemmas; argumentation that is specious or excessively subtle and intended to be misleading
ex/ Most people have a casuistry.
de facto - in fact; in reality
ex/ I believe in science, de facto.
depredation - an act of plundering and pillaging and marauding; (usually plural) a destructive action
ex/ The wrecking ball was created for depredation.
empathy - understanding and entering into another's feelings
ex/ I usually can empathize with my best friends.
harbinger - an indication of the approach of something or someone; verb foreshadow or presage
ex/ The girl thought he was cute so she harbingered him.
hedonism - an ethical system that evaluates the pursuit of pleasure as the highest good; the pursuit of pleasure as a matter of ethical principle
ex/ Some people are affiliated with hedonism.
lackluster - lacking luster or shine; lacking brilliance or vitality
ex/ When I go to the dunes with my friend Alex his truck gets lackluster.
malcontent - discontented as toward authority; noun a person who is discontented or disgusted
ex/ Jessica cried, “Down with the system!” as she gathered with other local malcontents at a rally.
mellifluous - pleasing to the ear
nepotism - noun favoritism shown to relatives or close friends by those in power (as by giving them jobs)
ex/ Kelli’s singing voice is lovely and mellifluous.
pander - someone who procures customers for whores (in England they call a pimp a ponce); verb arrange for sexual partners for others; yield (to); give satisfaction to
ex/ That company tends to pander to the interests of the younger crowds.
peccadillo - a petty misdeed
ex/ Randy’s parents made his every little slipup and peccadillo a big problem, and this made him feel terrible about himself.
piece de resistance - the most noteworthy or prized feature, aspect, event, article, etc., of a series or group; special item or attraction.
ex/ The artist had works all over the gallery, but her biggest, best piece—her piece de resistance—was toward the back of the room.
remand - 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
ex/ The court decided to remand the defendant to a drug treatment center.
syndrome - a complex of concurrent things; a pattern of symptoms indicative of some disease
ex/ It makes me sad when I hear about people that have or get life threatening syndromes.
ex/ My friend Alyssa is an aberration.
Ad hoc- for the special purpose or end presently under consideration
ex/ I sometimes stop a conversation after ad hoc.
bane - something causes misery or death
ex/ I now understand why they call him Bane.
bathos - triteness or triviality of style; a change from a serious subject to a disappointing one; insincere pathos
ex/ Bad climaxes end up in bathos.
cantankerous - having a difficult and contrary disposition; stubbornly obstructive and unwilling to cooperate
ex/ The "bad boy" was cantankerous.
casuistry - moral philosophy based on the application of general ethical principles to resolve moral dilemmas; argumentation that is specious or excessively subtle and intended to be misleading
ex/ Most people have a casuistry.
de facto - in fact; in reality
ex/ I believe in science, de facto.
depredation - an act of plundering and pillaging and marauding; (usually plural) a destructive action
ex/ The wrecking ball was created for depredation.
empathy - understanding and entering into another's feelings
ex/ I usually can empathize with my best friends.
harbinger - an indication of the approach of something or someone; verb foreshadow or presage
ex/ The girl thought he was cute so she harbingered him.
hedonism - an ethical system that evaluates the pursuit of pleasure as the highest good; the pursuit of pleasure as a matter of ethical principle
ex/ Some people are affiliated with hedonism.
lackluster - lacking luster or shine; lacking brilliance or vitality
ex/ When I go to the dunes with my friend Alex his truck gets lackluster.
malcontent - discontented as toward authority; noun a person who is discontented or disgusted
ex/ Jessica cried, “Down with the system!” as she gathered with other local malcontents at a rally.
mellifluous - pleasing to the ear
nepotism - noun favoritism shown to relatives or close friends by those in power (as by giving them jobs)
ex/ Kelli’s singing voice is lovely and mellifluous.
pander - someone who procures customers for whores (in England they call a pimp a ponce); verb arrange for sexual partners for others; yield (to); give satisfaction to
ex/ That company tends to pander to the interests of the younger crowds.
peccadillo - a petty misdeed
ex/ Randy’s parents made his every little slipup and peccadillo a big problem, and this made him feel terrible about himself.
piece de resistance - the most noteworthy or prized feature, aspect, event, article, etc., of a series or group; special item or attraction.
ex/ The artist had works all over the gallery, but her biggest, best piece—her piece de resistance—was toward the back of the room.
remand - 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
ex/ The court decided to remand the defendant to a drug treatment center.
syndrome - a complex of concurrent things; a pattern of symptoms indicative of some disease
ex/ It makes me sad when I hear about people that have or get life threatening syndromes.
Friday, September 21, 2012
Literature Analysis Questions: Slaughterhouse Five by Kurt Vonnegut
1. Briefly summarize the plot of the novel you read.
Slaughterhouse Five is mainly a story about a man named Billy Pilgrim, who is an optometrist and time traveler. The novel follows Billy as he lives the events that have happened in his life over and over again. Vonnegut makes the reader read awesome imagery of the terrors of war, "the quiet desperation of suburban life" and the breakdown of the psych through Billy's time. Just before he is captured as a prisoner Billy experiences his first time jump. When this happens he sees his whole life, past, present and future, right in front of his eyes. After the war, Billy returns from Europe back to his civilian life, but doesn't stop randomly jumping through time, witnessing his birth, his death and big events in between. He is eventually abducted by aliens who experience time in almost the same way, but Billy would rather only look at his life's better days. Ignoring his family's objections, Billy told the world about his time traveling and about his abduction, glorifying the story with a detailed version of his death.
2. Succinctly describe the theme of the novel. Avoid cliches.
Time and memory: The science fiction parts of the novel have to do with time travel. Billy leaps in time, experience his life's events out of order and repeatedly. He learns on the alien world of Trafalmadore that all time happens simultaneously, but no one really dies. But it has a evil side, the bad times also live forever. Memory is one of the novel's important themes, because of their memories, Vonnegut and Billy cannot move past the Dresden massacre. Billy leaps back in time to Dresden again and again, but we read a lot about Dresden because Billy relives it in his memory multiple times.
3. Describe the author's tone. Include three excerpts that illustrate your point(s).
I think Kurt Vonnegut writes in a morbidly humorous tone.
ex 1/ "The most important thing I learned on Tralfamadore was that when a person dies he only appears to die. He is still very much alive in the past, so it is very silly for people to cry at his funeral.”
ex 2/ "So it goes.Those were vile people in both those cities, as is well known. The world was better off without them. And Lot’s wife, of course, was told not to look back where all those people and their homes had been. But she did look back, and I love her for that, because it was so human.
So she was turned into a pillar of salt. So it goes.
People aren’t supposed to look back. I’m certainly not going to do it anymore.
I’ve finished my war book now. The next one I write is going to be fun.
This one is a failure, and had to be, since it was written by a pillar of salt."
ex3/ "If what Billy Pilgrim learned from the Tralfamadorians is true, that we will all live forever, no matter how dead we may sometimes seem to be, I am not overjoyed. Still—if I am going to spend eternity visiting this moment and that, I’m grateful that so many of those moments are nice.”
4. Describe five literary elements/techniques you observed that strengthen your understanding of the theme and/or your sense of the tone. Include three excerpts (for each element) that will help your reader understand each one.
1/ Hyperbole
> The ellipsis between Billy's travel to Tralfamadore and his return to Earth
3/ Juxtapose
> "roses and mustard gas"
> The phrase is used to describe an awful smell, whether it be Vonnegut's breath when he has been drinking or the smell of the "rotted and liquefied" bodies in Dresden.
>The juxtaposition of the beauty and sweetness of roses with the debilitating effects of mustard gas serves to emphasize the theme of the destructiveness of war, that war can make even the most beautiful things, like the roses, horrible and disgusting.
4/ Parody
> "The United States of America has been Balkanized, has been divided into twenty petty nations... Chicago has been hydrogen-bombed by angry Chinamen... Billy predicts his own death within an hour... At that moment, Billy's high forehead is in the cross hairs of a high-powered laser gun... In the next moment, Billy Pilgrim is dead. So it goes.">
After hearing Lazzaro tell a story about his revenge on a dog that bit him, Lazzaro tells Billy that he will eventually kill him for Roland Weary's death. Billy then recounts how he will die at Lazzaro's hand.
>Vonnegut's description of Billy's future seems to parody science fiction novels.
5/Ambiguity
> "One bird said to Billy Pilgrim, 'Poo-tee-weet?"
>Billy and the rest of the Americans were let out of the locked stable they had been staying in because the war in Europe was over. The only sound Billy could hear were the birds "talking."
> The phrase that the bird speaks, "Poo-tee-weet," is ambiguous in its meaning.
Slaughterhouse Five is mainly a story about a man named Billy Pilgrim, who is an optometrist and time traveler. The novel follows Billy as he lives the events that have happened in his life over and over again. Vonnegut makes the reader read awesome imagery of the terrors of war, "the quiet desperation of suburban life" and the breakdown of the psych through Billy's time. Just before he is captured as a prisoner Billy experiences his first time jump. When this happens he sees his whole life, past, present and future, right in front of his eyes. After the war, Billy returns from Europe back to his civilian life, but doesn't stop randomly jumping through time, witnessing his birth, his death and big events in between. He is eventually abducted by aliens who experience time in almost the same way, but Billy would rather only look at his life's better days. Ignoring his family's objections, Billy told the world about his time traveling and about his abduction, glorifying the story with a detailed version of his death.
2. Succinctly describe the theme of the novel. Avoid cliches.
Time and memory: The science fiction parts of the novel have to do with time travel. Billy leaps in time, experience his life's events out of order and repeatedly. He learns on the alien world of Trafalmadore that all time happens simultaneously, but no one really dies. But it has a evil side, the bad times also live forever. Memory is one of the novel's important themes, because of their memories, Vonnegut and Billy cannot move past the Dresden massacre. Billy leaps back in time to Dresden again and again, but we read a lot about Dresden because Billy relives it in his memory multiple times.
3. Describe the author's tone. Include three excerpts that illustrate your point(s).
I think Kurt Vonnegut writes in a morbidly humorous tone.
ex 1/ "The most important thing I learned on Tralfamadore was that when a person dies he only appears to die. He is still very much alive in the past, so it is very silly for people to cry at his funeral.”
ex 2/ "So it goes.Those were vile people in both those cities, as is well known. The world was better off without them. And Lot’s wife, of course, was told not to look back where all those people and their homes had been. But she did look back, and I love her for that, because it was so human.
So she was turned into a pillar of salt. So it goes.
People aren’t supposed to look back. I’m certainly not going to do it anymore.
I’ve finished my war book now. The next one I write is going to be fun.
This one is a failure, and had to be, since it was written by a pillar of salt."
ex3/ "If what Billy Pilgrim learned from the Tralfamadorians is true, that we will all live forever, no matter how dead we may sometimes seem to be, I am not overjoyed. Still—if I am going to spend eternity visiting this moment and that, I’m grateful that so many of those moments are nice.”
4. Describe five literary elements/techniques you observed that strengthen your understanding of the theme and/or your sense of the tone. Include three excerpts (for each element) that will help your reader understand each one.
1/ Hyperbole
>
The hyperbole that Dresden resembled the moon serves to reveal
> "Dresden was like the moon now, nothing but minerals."
>The Americans and their guards come out of their shelter to see the
devastation of Dresden and Billy remarks that it looked like the surface of the
moon.
2/ Ellipsis
> "Everything is all right, and everybody has to do
exactly what he does. I learned that on Tralfamadore."
> In the hospital, Billy is telling Rumfoord about what happened in
Dresden.> The ellipsis between Billy's travel to Tralfamadore and his return to Earth
3/ Juxtapose
> "roses and mustard gas"
> The phrase is used to describe an awful smell, whether it be Vonnegut's breath when he has been drinking or the smell of the "rotted and liquefied" bodies in Dresden.
>The juxtaposition of the beauty and sweetness of roses with the debilitating effects of mustard gas serves to emphasize the theme of the destructiveness of war, that war can make even the most beautiful things, like the roses, horrible and disgusting.
4/ Parody
> "The United States of America has been Balkanized, has been divided into twenty petty nations... Chicago has been hydrogen-bombed by angry Chinamen... Billy predicts his own death within an hour... At that moment, Billy's high forehead is in the cross hairs of a high-powered laser gun... In the next moment, Billy Pilgrim is dead. So it goes.">
After hearing Lazzaro tell a story about his revenge on a dog that bit him, Lazzaro tells Billy that he will eventually kill him for Roland Weary's death. Billy then recounts how he will die at Lazzaro's hand.
>Vonnegut's description of Billy's future seems to parody science fiction novels.
5/Ambiguity
> "One bird said to Billy Pilgrim, 'Poo-tee-weet?"
>Billy and the rest of the Americans were let out of the locked stable they had been staying in because the war in Europe was over. The only sound Billy could hear were the birds "talking."
> The phrase that the bird speaks, "Poo-tee-weet," is ambiguous in its meaning.
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