Literature Analysis #3: The Joy Luck Club

Literature Analysis 3: The Joy Luck Club

            Mostly every child’s life goal is to make their mother and father proud no matter what race or generation. However in the book, The Joy Luck Club by Amy Tan, it deals with several mother daughter relationships, in which the conflict is the struggle of honoring their families and keeping their heritage. As for Jing-Mei, this meant to fulfill her mother, Suyuan Woo’s, legacy which was to find her lost twin daughters, and take over the Joy Luck Club her mother had created. Suyuan had died before she could accomplish her goal, but luckily her daughter, Jing-Mei picked up right where she left off and fulfilled her mother’s legacy.

            Suyuan had left her home when the Japanese began bombing the town. She had left with pretty much nothing but two trunks, little bags of food, and her twin daughters. Eventually Suyuan could not keep up much longer, and fell extremely weak and sick. She could not bear to let her twin daughters watch her die, so she left them in the streets with nothing more than a note and a positive mind in the hopes that someone genuine would find them. Soon after, she awoke in a new place with her daughters not by her side. Suyuan was on a search now to find them, and left America to go back to China. However to her disappointment, she never found her daughters before her death. Jing-Mei was to continue on her mother’s emotional path, and find her long lost twin sisters.

            Next, the creation of the Joy Luck Club was invented by Suyuan Woo in the hopes of forgetting the hardships in life; in her case, the hardship of her lost daughters. The club was shared among other Chinese mothers who would play Mah Jong, and tell happy, uplifting stories about their life. When Suyuan dies, her daughter Jing-Mei must take over the tradition. Despite the fact that Jing-Mei feels incapable of playing the role of her mother and taking over as the new leader of the club. Nevertheless Jing-Mei slowly starts to warm up to playing Mah Jong, and eventually takes that first step in finishing her mother’s legacy.

            Months after Suyuan’s death, the twins finally came in contact and they wrote to The Joy Luck Club about their lives and wanted to meet their mother. Shortly after, Jing-Mei found out about her half-sisters communication, and agreed to write them and inform them about their mother’s death. Jing-Mei had also agreed to go meet her half-sisters in person. When the day had arrived, Jing-Mei was super nervous yet excited to see her sisters for the first time, and when they stepped out of the airplane, she knew right off they were family.

            Jing-Mei has defiantly fulfilled her mother’s essence in that she found her mother’s long lost twin daughters, continued the Joy Luck Club tradition, and kept her family heritage. Suyuan’s wish can now live on, and Jing Mei can now be in peace and cherish the fact that she now honors her family.    

Latin Roots #7

Roots and derivatives
1. duc(t), duce: to lead
2. fed(er), fide(e): faith, trust
3. fin(e): end, limit
4. flect, flex: to bend

Word list
1. aqueduct: A large pipe or other conduit made to bring water from a great distance
    Romans used aqueducts to supply their homes with fresh water.

2. Conductive: tending to lead, help, assist, or result in
    The library is a conductive place to get your homework done.

3. Definitive: completely accurate, reliable, and authoritative; decisive or conclusive
    It was definitive that I had to move schools after the semester.

4. fidelity: faithfulness to ones promises or obligations, steadfast faithfulness; technological faithfulness.
    When it comes to relationships, fidelity is number one.

5. Fiduciary: an individual who holds something in trust for another; a trustee
    The bank is a fiduciary to most peoples savings.

6. Finale: a "grand" conclusion, as of a performance; the last scene of a play
   The season finale of my favorite show Pretty Little Liars kept me on the edge of my seat the whole time, and left me wanting to know what else happens. 

7. Finite: limited or bordered by time or by any measurement; measurable
    There is a finite amount of time for me to study for my finals.

8. Flexuous: winding in and out; bending or wavering
    The flexuous road is extremely slippery when it rains.

9. Inducement: anything used or given to persuade or motivate; an incentive
    An inducement for her good grades was money for every A.

10. Inflection: a slight change in tone or modulation of the voice, as in a point of emphasis
    By the inflection in her voice, everyone knew she was nervous to give her speech.

11. Perfidious: characteristic of one who would intentionally betray a faith or trust; treacherous
    The women's perfidious actions drove her husband to divorce,

12. Traduce: to speak falsely of; to slander or defame; to disgrace another's good name; to vilify
    Magazines usually always traduce the readers on lies about celebrities lives.

Leopard Man Questions

9. Tom leopard is called leopard man because he tattooed his entire body with leopard print, and he lives in the wild and acts as any other real leopard would.

10. The author thinks people with tattoos and piercing are just attention seekers. He thinks this because he believes some people are psychologically dependent on others opinions.

11. Leopard man is different from other tattooed and pierced people in that he doesn't live for other peoples reactions, rather he does it because it makes him happy.

12. Leopard man lives in a small cabin in the Scottish wilderness.

13. According to Feys, society fears loners because they pursue their own values without seeking others permission.

14. The "worlds most common but dangerous psychological disorder" is conformity. Fey argues that people try so hard to fit in, it leads to suppression and destruction of ones self.

15. Leopard man is so happy because he is doing what he loves, and not what others want him to do.

Latin Roots #6

Roots and Derivatives 
1. Corp(or): body
2. Cred: To believe
3. Cur(r), Curs, Course: To run, to flow
4. dic(t): To speak, to say

Word List
1. Benediction: the invocation of a divine blessing, as at the close of a religion service; a blessing or state of blessedness
   After every Sunday Mass, the priest offers a benediction.

2. Concourse: a running or flowing together; a broad public walkway or hallway; a crowd or throng
   The securities job was to monitor the concrete concourse area of the football stadium.

3. Concurrent: occurring at the same time; meeting or acting together
   Hannah Montana lived a concurrent life; her ordinary life and her famous life.

4. Corporal: related to the physical body
   There would definitely be less troubled students and better behavior if schools used corporal punishments.

5. Corpulent: very stout; fleshly and obese; fat
   After the guy from super size me experimented from overeating McDonalds, he became rather corpulent in size.

6. Credibility: the quality of being believable or trustworthy
   Once somebody has lied to me once, their credibility has gone out the window.

7. Credulity: the willingness to believe too easily without proof.
   The con artist was able to sell was able to easily sell his products to credulous buyers.

8. Cursory: done is a superficial or hasty manner
   Before my test, I cursory looked over my notes instead of studying the night before.

9. Dictum: an authoritative saying or maxim
   My mom always tells me cheesy dictums that her mom once told her.

10. Incorporate: to form into one body or functioning unit; to combine several different things into a whole
   Artist like to incorporate their own personality in their paintings.

11. Incredulous: not believing, skeptical, or doubting
   It was obvious the jury did not believe the defendants incredulous alibi. 

12. Indicative: characteristic of or very much like; suggestive
   My brothers wedding ring is an indicative of his wives love.  

Lit. Analysis #2 response: The Giver

1. The Giver by Lois Lowery is in a futuristic community wheres theres no color, no feelings, and everyone is pretty much the same. The main character, Jonas, however has always felt like he's different from everyone else, but doesn't quite know how to describe it. At the age of twelve, every twelve year old in the community gets placed in a career that the government assigns them for the rest of their life. Jonas was the last one called, and finally he was called up to be the new Memory of receiver because he's "different" from everybody else. On his first day, the receiver gives Jonas a happy memory, and Jonas wonders why the government took this away from everybody. Throughout the book, The Giver shares sad, happy, exciting nervous, traumatizing, and horrid memories of the past. Jonas isn't aloud to share these memories of the past with anybody because it causes pain and indifference. He didn't think this was right and wanted to create a plan to cross the border of his community and release all memory back to the people. Jonas and the Giver plotted a scheme for Jonas to escape and risk his life. After almost getting caught, and escaping a near death experience, he lived a memory that the Giver gave to him to give him strength. Jonas crossed the border, and finally all the memory was released.

2. The theme in this book is, memories and individuality is what makes the world unique. I believe Lowery chose to write about this because so many people want to be like each other or copy one another such as celebrities. However, if everybody was the same the world would be so boring. Also, I think Lowery wants us to cherish and share our memories especially the happy one, so that they will never be forgotten.

3.The protagonist is a dynamic and round character because he changes throughout the course of the story. For example, in the beginning of the book, Jonas had no problem with his community, however by the end he though it was wrong and awful, which made him set a plan to change the community. This sparked after the Giver had shared with him all the past memories of the world that nobody knows about.

4. The major symbols in the story include the senses such as hearing, seeing, and feeling. No one could see color or feel feelings such as frightfulness and happiness except for Jonas. Another huge symbol was Jonas's first memory of him sledding down a hill in the snow because by living this pacific memory, is how Jonas escaped his society.

5. I chose this book because my friend had read it and told me good things about it. Also, it had recently came out in theaters and the previews had appealed to me. However, I wanted to read the book first, so that I'm able to compare the book to the movie. When I began the book, it made me want to keep reading because it started as a sort of suspense of why Jonas was different from everybody else and I wanted to find out why.

6. It's hard to personally relate myself to this book because I and most everyone around me can see color as well as have our own feelings. However, everybody is different in looks and personality kinda how Jonas felt toward everybody else.

7. A part I expect to remember was when Jonas took Gabriel, the baby who has the same "ability" as him, with him when he escaped. Jonas could have gotten away a lot easier and faster, but instead he saved from dying and took him with him. "For Gabriel there would have been no life at all. So there had not really been a choice."

Greek Drama Questions

1. Dancing choruses of worshipers began competing for prizes such as a bull or goat.
2. As many as fourteen thousand spectators gathered in the open-air Theater of Dionysos.
3. The mask affected the voices of the actors because they had exaggerated mouthpieces that amplified the actors' voices.
4. Antigone was suspenseful to viewing audiences because since they already knew the story, the suspense came from their knowledge of things the characters on stage did not know. The audience pitied them and wanted to warn them of their impending doom.
5. The Shepard is ordered to leave the infant to die on a lonely mountainside with his ankles pinned together.
6. The riddle the Sphinx gave to Oedipus was, "What creature goes on four legs in the morning, two legs in the afternoon, and three legs in the evening?"
7. Oedipus had four kids: two sons, Polyneices and Eteocles; and two daughters, Antigone and Ismene.
8. After Oedipus is exiled, Creon takes over Thebes.
9. After death, the family closed the dead person's eyes and mouth and began to prepare the body for the prothesis (the wake). The women of the house washed the body and dressed it in white or in wedding clothes. Then they places the body on a portable framework, making sure that the feet pointed toward the door, and sprinkled it with herbs which were believed to keep evil spirits away. Women waited near the body, and men entered with their right arms raised high in the air. When the closest relative held the dead persons head with both hands, the other mourners wailed and sang accompanied by the reed pipe.

Antigone Quickwrite

If I were to wake up on vacation and find myself surrounded by people who say parents have lost their minds and my two brothers killed each other in a fight, I'd definitely put that down in the books for worst vacation. Then later finding out that my uncle has declared himself king, left my favorite brother for the maggots and birds to dine on, while my jerk brother got buried with honor, I would be absolutely furious. First I would go around the town advocating what my uncle has done and find a way to stop him. If my sister was all I had and she didn't want to help me, then I would go and find brave strong willed people who would help me burry my brother. I mean it wasn't even my favorite brother's fault because he didn't even start the fight! It was my jerk brother who started it and now somehow he gets buried with honor. How does this happen? I would get all the people I could find to help me put my uncle through the Anti-gone machine, as he did to my parents. If I gathered lots of people then my uncle would have no chance, no one would be executed, and my brother can be buried peacefully with honor. Everybody is happy, and we can precede to our family vacation.

Jonathan Safran Foer Webinar

Jonathan Safran Foer Webinar

On October 28^th, 2014, our class was lucky enough to view a live video chat with presenter, Jonathan Safran about his book, “Eating Animals.” I thought the category of his webinar was rather informative with a little bit of persuasiveness. Safran informed us with some interesting facts and views that I had never quite thought about. Although not trying to completely change our views on weather eating animals is right or not, he purposed questions that made my perspectives differentiate about its ethical purposes. For example, When he mentioned how the animals are locked in tiny cages where they barley fit, just to die for our own consumption.

Three stand out moments

1.      Something I found interesting was when he mentioned that mostly everyone knows the cruelty and torture animals go through, however they don’t like to hear it, and continue eating meat. Also he says people are ignorant to the fact and they won’t fix the problem because Americans are known as “selfish” and will only care if it applies to them. This I find is quite sad because as being an animal lover, I find animal torture no different than humans being tortured.

2.      The second stand out moment was when Safran said that, “You can eat meat your whole life without being able to read or watch about the animals affected and the issues that come along with it.” I found this bizarre because who would not want to know what is being put into their own body? The first concern people have is just the taste, but they don’t even bother to know what’s inside, it could be a rat for all they care.

3.      Lastly I found it interesting when he said that children don’t make decisions for themselves like this when they’re young. I agree with this because a person’s eating habit when they are young determines how they will eat the rest of their lives and it’s all up to the parents. A parent can feed their child only meat, cupcakes, and donuts, and that’s usually how they will eat all their life. Or, a parent can feed their child healthy with plenty of fruits and vegetables, and that will guide them throughout their life as well. I believe it all starts with the parent’s lifestyle to pass on to their kids.

This presentation can relate to my life because it makes me consider now what I am putting into my body. Previously, I have attempted to become vegetarian, only to later give up because my mom cooks a delicious meal containing meat. However, I do watch what meat I’m consuming, and have cut certain meats out of my diet. Nonetheless, I think it would be hard for me to cut meat out of my diet completely. This webinar made me especially think about animals and the cruelty they go through because I am a giant animal lover.         

Latin Roots #5

Roots and Derivatives
1. Cent(i): hundred
2. cid(e): kill, cut
3. clam, claim: cry out, declare
4. cord, cour: heart

Word list
1. Bicentennial: a celebration of a two hundredth anniversary
      ex: The bicentennial of the French Revolution in 1989 was celebrated with a parade.

2. Centenarian: a person who has lived to be one hundred years old
      ex: My great grandfather was a centenarian before he died at age 102

3. Centurion: a Roman officer commanding one hundred men; related to the military mind, especially as it favors military solutions for handling social problems
    ex: The soldier is likely to see the world from a centurion perspective

4. Clamorous: characterized by continuous loud and complaining voices; noisily complaining; insistent
    ex: There was a jostling, clamorous mob on strike for better pay.

5. Concise: covering much in few words; brief and to the point
    ex: I like when people tell a concise story because is a lot easier to understand rather than someone who blabs about unnecessary detail.

6. Concordance: a condition of harmony or agreement; an alphabetical index indicating reference passages, as from a writers works
    ex: The entire basketball team was in concordance.

7. Cordial: of the heart; warm and friendly; amiable
    ex: There was a new kid to the school, and everyone was cordial towards him to make sure he feels welcome.

8. Discordant: (sounding) harsh or inharmonious: clashing
    ex: I have sensitive hears, therefore the discordant sounds of Fireworks on 4th of July hurt my ears.

9. Genocide: the systematic extermination of an ethnic group
    ex: Hitler used Genocide towards the Jews because he thought Germans were better.

10. Incisive: keenly penetrating; cutting into
    ex: The boys arguments was marked as incisive humor.

11. Proclamation: an official statement or announcement that informs or honors.
    ex: The entire kingdom planned to attend the proclamation ceremony of the new Queen and King.

12. Reclaim: To claim again; to restore a former importance or usefulness
    ex: After loosing his home to foreclosure, The man finally got his home back.

Latin Roots #4

Roots and Derivatives

bon, boun: good

caput, capt: head, chief, leader.

carn(i): flesh

ced(e), ceed, cess: go, yield, surrender.

1. accession: the attainment of a certain rank or dignity; an increase by means of something added; the act of becoming joined.
ex: The artist was interested in the accession of high quality paintings.

2. bona fide: in good faith; genuine.
ex: The girl who excelled in math made a bona fide deal to help her friend, who struggled.

3. bonanza: a sudden and unexpected source of money or riches; a windfall.
ex: The women had won a great bonanza when she won 100,00 on a slot machine in vegas.

4. bounteous: inclined to be generous; plentiful and abundant.
ex: The flower shop had bounteous amounts of newly stocked daises and roses. 

5. capitulation: a surrendering, usually upon prearranged terms or conditions; a final giving up.
ex: After seeing himself on the news, the escaped convict decided to capitulate to avoid being shot by a police officer. 

6. carnage: a great slaughter, as in battle.
ex: The carnage of the battle left thousands of dead bodies in the street. 

7. carnivorous: flesh- eating, as an animal.

ex: Lions are carnivorous because they hunt and eat gazelle.

8. incarnate: literally, in the flesh, in bodily form; personified; flesh- colored.

ex: People say the girl is an angel incarnate because she is always so good and loves to help others. 

9. intercede: to act on another’s behalf; to meditate.

ex: The teacher will have to intercede in the dispute between the two girls, and soon enough they will be friends again. 

10. precedent: a previous act or decision taken as a valid model.

ex: Pre-school is a recommended precedent before kindergarden.

11. recapitulation: a brief repetition; a summary, as of what has already been said.

ex: I like to recapitulate my notes before taking a test so I will do well.

12. reincarnation: a thing that is reborn, or comes back into being.

ex: Buddhist believed in reincarnation and that every time they die, they'll be reborn.

literature Analysis #1

I Am The Messenger

1. The plot of the story begins with Ed Kennedy, a lowlife, underaged cab driver who has no direction as to where he's going in life. One day him and his friends are caught up at a bank robbery and unintentionally Ed stops the bank robber, and is known as a hero. Shortly after, Ed receives an ace of diamonds in the mail from an unknown source. The card has a list of addresses on it and each address contains a problem Ed has to fix. Throughout the book, Ed receives a serious of aces; diamonds, clubs, spades, hearts, and had to figure out the address with some clues, and solve each problem. After he had completed each message, Ed got a final card that was a joker and had his own address written on it. He had learned my the last card that he isn't the messenger, but instead the message.

2. I think the theme of this book is, it's not about what you have already done, but what you can accomplish. Ed was going no where in life, and everyone including his mom knew it. He has done nothing but drive a cab, however the messages made Ed a hero. He accomplished all the messages and saved/helped others that not just everyone could do.

3. I chose this book because as I was looking through the list of books, this title stood out to me. It sounded suspenseful, so I looked up some summaries about it online. Right away it grabbed my attention, and also some other people who have read it told e it was a good book. When I began reading I kept reading because right off the back there was action and it app lead to me.

4. I found this book more or less realistic because the dialog is just how people would talk in everyday conversations. Also, the problems in the book could relate to anyone, such as not knowing where you're going in life, or being in love with your best friend. However sometimes I didn't find it unrealistic because its rare if someone got messages dropped off at there front porch to go solve peoples problems and be the hero. I do not personally know anybody who relates to Ed Kennedy, but I wouldn't doubt there is.

5. I would say the tone would be somewhat funny and straight forward. Ed tells everything like it is.

  Examples: "Only in todays sick society can a man be persecuted for reading too many books."

                       "I'm just another stupid human."

                       "Have you ever noticed that idiots have a lot of friends? It's just an observation."

6.  Symbolism: After Ed helps the first set of addresses on the cards, he gets another one, but this time its a riddle. After he solves the riddle he realized its the refuge place he used to go with his brother.

    "Say a prayer at the Stones of Home." (Part two)

Symbolism: Ed has a weird dream one night that he is in school and the teacher tells him to read the bored and it say, Barren Women. He then later realizes that its an author about a poem that relates to his life. It also helps him figure out the rest of the clues are by authors.

    " 'Recognize the words now, Ed?' Now I see the title at the top and understand what it says: Barren Women. I wake"  (Page 204)

Symbolism: Each suit of card symbolizes Ed's live in some way or scares him.

   "In moments of awakens, I remember the diamonds, relive the clubs, and even smile about the spades. I worry about the hearts." (page 280)

Simile: Marv is being compared to a frozen star jump, after just being punched in the face by his old girlfriends dad.

   "As I cross the street, Marv is splayed in the front yard like a frozen star jump." (page 

Personification: The sky is given a human trait and says its nervous after Ed chases a runner from his cab who led him to the Stones of Home.

  "The sky is nervous. Black and blue." (page 132)

Hyperbole: Ed exaggerates after the love of his life just said they were best friend and nothing more.

  " You can kill a man with those words." (page 120)

Symbolism: The hearts are symbolic because Ed didn't think they'd be last, but they were because they were most important. 

  "It's not what I expect. Spades." (page 199)

Irony: At the end of the book believe it or not, Ed ends up with his best friend Audrey  The hero always gets the girl.

  "Can I stay?"

  "Of course you can stay the night"

  "Not the night, for good." (page 356)

Symbolism: The doorman, Ed's dog, can be a symbol or foreshadowing of what Ed could end up as when he's old; smelly, lonely, and coffee.

  "I took him with me. To my shack. to his door. And he is happy. And so am I." (Page 18)

Allusions: Ed got a stone with three names on it instead of address: Graham Greene, Morris West, and Sylvia Plath. After a dream, Ed found out that those were all writers.

 "First up, I go for Graham Greene. Next I type West Morris. Now, Sylvia." (Page 209 & 210)

Characterization 

1. The author shows direct characterization when describing Marv and Audrey. He describes marv as never shutting up and how he's tight with his money. He describes Audrey in debt about how beautiful she is. Two indirect characters the author shows us is Ed himself, and how Marv actually has a good heart. The author tells us a little bit about Ed, but throughout the book we learn more about Ed through his actions. Also with  Marv the author shows us at the end of the book Marv is actually really nice and loving through his actions.

2. The authors Diction is informal. The writing is loose with characterization and I feel is easy to connect to the reader. The writing is consistent.

3. Ed Kennedy is a dynamic character because he changes throughout the book by at first thinking he's a loser who's not going anywhere in life, to thinking he's a hero who's actually worth something. He is also a round character because he changes throughout.

4. In the beginning of the story, I understood how Ed Kennedy viewed himself and where he thought he was going, nowhere. Throughout the book, I saw the change he went through and how his views started changing about himself. Now he thinks of himself as a type of heroic figure. 

Enduring Memory

"I'm not the messenger at all, I am the message." I really enjoyed this book because it had a whole different outlook on things. Also I liked the way every event somehow connected with one another by the end. This book was different than any other books, which means I'll remember it more so. I decided to take a chance and choose a different genre of book than I would normally choose, and I'm glad I did. I'll especially remember the ending of the book when Ed changed to a loser to a hero and realized that he's not the messenger, but the message to himself.  

  

Latin Roots #3

Roots and Derivatives 

1. Aud(it); hear
2. Avi; bird
3. Bell(i); war
4. ben(e); good, well

Word List

1. Antebellum-occuring or existing before a particular year, especially the American Civil war

       During the Antebellum period before the Civil War, African American were viewed as property.

2. Audit- to attend a class only as a listener, not for credit; to check or examine a companies financial records; the process of making an examination

      If you do not pay your taxes, you will be audited.

3. Auditory- related to the sense of hearing

     The school has the students take an auditory test every year to check their hear.

4. Avian- Characteristics of or pertaining to birds

    Bird feeders will attract avian visitors.

5. Aviary- An elaborate structure for housing birds

    At the museum, there are beautiful aviary to keep their birds in.

6. Avionics- The technology of (using) electronic equipment in aviation missilery and space flight

    NASA using avionics in space exploration.

7. Bellicose- eager to fight or quarrel hostile

    The boy had a bellicose personality which came in handy for his basketball games.

8. Belligerent- the condition of warlike hostility; a hostile action

    You make more friends being nice than belligerent.

9. Benefactor- a person who gives another (financial) help; a patron

    Our families accountant is our benefactor when it comes to taxes. 

10. Beneficiary- one who receives a benefit (of payment), as from an insurance policy.

    When a family member passes away, usually the beneficiary goes to the children.

11. Benign- not malignant; gracious and kindly; good natured 

    Kindergarden teachers must be benign as well as patient with their students.

12. Inaudible- Unable to be heard

    There was technical difficulties at the performance because the speakers became inaudible and no one heard the speeches. 

    

   

Cupid and Psyche

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Latin Roots #2

Roots and Derivatives

1. anni, annu, enni:  year
2. aqua, aque: water
3. arm: arm, weapon
4. art: art,craft,skill

Word List

1. Aqua: the hue of the sea:, bluish-green

      The color of the ocean was a beautiful aqua color.

2. Aquaculture: the cultivation of water plants and animals for human food

     In the past several year, the aquaculture production has increased

3. Aqueous: like of, or formed by water: watery

    A solution surrounded by water is aqueous.

4. Armada: a fleet of warships

    We sailed past an armada of tall ships

5. Armature: equipment or clothing for battle, or any protective covering; an armlike extension

     The cranes steel armature carried nearly one ton.

6. Armistice: a temporary suspension of hostilities by mutual agreement, as a truce preliminary  to a peace treaty.

     My sister and I agreed on an armistice.

7. Artifact: any object produced by the art of the human hand; simple or primitive objects from the distant past.

    Finding artifacts today help us better understand the world before us.

8. Artifice: cunning ingenuity; clever or sly trickery

    The girl used artifice to put the blame on another student for a mistake she made.

9. Artisan: a person skilled at a craft. Usually a handcraft

    I have witnessed talented artisan people who can carve objects out of small pieces of wood such as pencils.

10. Millennium: a period of peace and great prosperity, a thousand years.

   During the last millennium, there was advancements in technology. 

11. Perennial: year after year: throughout the years; a plant that blooms annually

     The lady at the cake contest is a perennial winner, and people are getting sick of it.

12. Superannuated: worn out. or retired, from age and years of use of hard work: obsolete or outdated

       Old technology such as pagers, are superannuated because of the new phones we have now.

 

Journal

If I could live anywhere in the world I would want to live in Hawaii. However, I would want to be able to live near my family, or else I would get lonely being all by myself. I don't think I would ever want to live in a big city because there's too much chaos, Although I would love to visit often. I would prefer to live in the paradise of Hawaii because it's peaceful, but not too quiet, full of beaches and activities, and it has its own community as well, not just a vacation getaway. The only thing that would make living in Hawaii better is my family and friends living there too. I would never want to move out of the United States because because it's a whole new culture and a different style of life. In the US were free and independent, people beg to live here, so why leave.

Vocabulary #1

1. Agenda: A list or plan of things to be done in the future: listed items to be taken up at a meeting.
 I write down my homework assignments everyday in my agenda.

2. Agile: Quick and easy of movement or thought; rescourceful.
 The boy had an agile mind; he was sharp.

3. Alienate: To make someone unfriendly, withdrawn, or indifferent.
 Russia has been an alienate to the United States for many years.

4. Altercation: A heated or angry argument; a noisey quarrel.
 The couple had an altercation which resulted in a breakup.

5. Amiable: Generally pleasant, friendly, and nice to be around.
 I am an amiable person,especially when I meet new people. 

6. Amorous: Suggestive of love, love making, or sexual desire.
 A boy had an amorous desire toward the new girl at school.

7. Animated: Filled with life and spirit; active.
 My teacher teaches his class full of animation. It's always fun to learn in there.

8. Equanimity: Calmness or evenness of mind or spirit; even-temperedness.
 When I'm taking a test, I try and be equanimity so i can focus and get a good grade.

9. Inalienable: That which cannot be taken away or transfered to someone else.
 You're Bill of Rights in the United States are inalienable.

10. Inanimate: Possessing neither life nor spirit; not alive.
 When you learn to maneuver a computer, you have the ability to make an inanimate object follow your command.

11. Magnanimous: Showing a kind of nobleness of mind and spirit; high-minded; free of pettiness.
 Because the new girl was kind and generous, the magnanimous girl immediately made friends.

12. Reactionary: Characterized by ideas suggesting a desire to move backward, especailly in matters relating to politics.
 When it comes to politics the women was reactionary and refused to talk about it.

Purpose of Myths Review

1. Name four fundamental questions that myths address.

• What is the nature of the universe in which i live?
• How do I relate to that universe?
• How much control do I have over my own life?
• What must I do in order to survive?

2. Name four themes in world mythology

• The first parents are often the gods of sky and earth.
• The creator-god usually fashions the first human beings from parts of the earth
• the gods destroy at least one world of mortals by causing a great flood
• In the world as in nature, birth, maturity, and death are often followed by rebirth.

3. What is the beginning of the universe for most major cultures?

The beginning of the universe is usually described as a chaotic, formless mass that a god or pair of gods separates. Then, the gods multiply so that each can have his or her own role in the universal scheme. The creator-god then brings life to earth, such as plants, animals, and human beings. 

4. What do hero myths and epics teach members of society?

The heroic myths and epics of a society teach its members the appropriate attitudes, behavior, and values of that culture. 

5. Why do ordinary people identify with heroes 

Ordinary people identify with heroes because the heroes possess human weakness and imperfections that all people can relate to.

6. What is the foundation of Matriarchal society.

The foundation of the Matriarchal society is the agriculture year. 

7. What is Sigmund Freud's view of myths? 

Sigmund Freud's viewed myths as the expression of the individuals unconscious wishes, fears, drives, and desires.

8. Myths demonstrate that people possess...

Their myths demonstrate that they possess the intellectual capacity to understand the world in which they live.

Birth Order Research Essay

                                                                  Only child syndrome
Depending on the order in which a person is born, can say a lot about someones personality traits. According to the birth order research, I am considered an only child because both my siblings are over five years older than me. The characteristics on this research portrays several things about my personality such as my procrastination, perfectionist, reliability, and conscientiousness. However, I do disagree with little of the research findings as well.

The first trait that stood out to me is procrastination to relieve the burden of being a perfectionist. This describes me to an extent because everything I do or make has to be perfect, so I plan to make sure it is. A recent example, I remember was just the other day in class we were doing an in-class project, right away people began to work, but I just sat there and planned and strategized. Towards the end of class time, everybody had finished yet I was just barley getting started. This is a common event for myself because if my project is not perfect the first time I will continue to start over. Another recent example of my procrastination to relieve burden of perfectionist was when I was helping my sister-in-law with wedding decorations. We had to evenly line burlap around jars and stick flowers on top of it. I kept starting and restarting until the burlap was perfectly inline and straight because I knew several people would be looking at my work. I realize that not everything can come out looking perfect, and I know putting things off can get me in trouble in the future. This is a cursed trait that I need to improve upon.

Another accurate trait the birth order research states is only children usually are reliable and conscientious. An example of how I demonstrate being reliable is that all my coaches, teachers, and family rely on me to work hard, do my best, and never give up. My friends rely on me to follow through with plans and other commitments that have been planned. I also feel it is very important for my teachers to see me as a reliable student. Recently, my teacher, Mr. Ostini gave me and a couple other students a job to make a homework blog and i will prove to him he can depend on me to follow through with the assignment. Trust and reliability is a big trait to display to my coaches, teachers, parents, and friends to count on me in order for me to be successful. As far as being conscientious, the other day I had thought of something funny to say as a joke, but I realized it could end up hurting someone's feelings. I like to think before I speak because I wouldn't want someone to take the joke in a wrong way and have be loosing a friend in the end. Being reliable and conscientious is and excellent trait to possess so that people are able to trust and like me. Although I'm not the best, I would still consider myself  reliable and conscientious person.

However, there are traits that I disagree with. The ones that especially stick out to me were the traits that describes: gets along well with those older and younger, but not the same age, and difficult relating to peers. I find this completely inaccurate because I get along with just about everyone whether there're older, younger, or my same age. In fact, the majority of my friends are peers my age. I consider myself a rather friendly person and i love getting to know new people. Difficult relating to peers is also false because all the friends i have are mainly because we relate to the same things and share the same interest. Even if i'm tooting my own horn, I do admit, I have plenty of friends and partly because we share the same interest. Not all research is accurate and I disagree 100 percent with two of these findings.  

These are strengths, weaknesses, agreements, and disagreements with the birth order research, and i see eye to eye with most of the personality traits with the exceptions of few. I enjoyed this research because it let me see the difference or prospective just by the order in which someone was born. This research project also changed my views and perceptions on others, because now I see how being the youngest, middle, oldest, or only child can affect the way you act.        

Birth Order Traits

Trait: May procrastinate to relieve burden of perfectionist

This describes me 100 percent because to me everything has to be perfect and I always put things off or take a while to do something because I have to make sure everything is perfect. If it's not, I'll start over over until I get just right.

Trait: Reliable and conscientious

I would say I'm pretty reliable because I always follow through with what I say. I USUALLY consider myself as a conscientious person and think before I act. However I do have to admit I'm not so great at this and speak my mind sometimes but I have controlled myself better now.

Trait: Critical of self and others

I am very critical of myself and others in the fact everything, again, has to be perfect. I have this horrid perfectionist trait that I need to learn how to fluctuate sometimes and deal with things not always perfect. If myself, or another does something for me, it has to be just right or I can't handle it.

Trait: Gets along well with those older or younger

I completely disagree with this trait considering I get along with just about everyone. Weather they're older, younger, or my age I love getting to know new people and making new friends.

Trait: Serious

I also disagree with this trait because i love to laugh, joke, and pretty much be the opposite of serious. Anyone who knows me well knows that it doesn't take much for me to start making myself comfortable around others and making them laugh and have fun.

Reflection On Week One

1. No, I don't believe there will be any factors that will affect on my participation in this class. However, I am not very good with computer skills as far as connecting links and stuff like that as you can see with my vine. I believe I will get better with this considering I figured out how to make this blog and send it to you.

2. The best learning experience I have encountered so far has been my 8th grade year. One of the best teachers I have had was Mr. Milt, my algebra teacher. His learning environment is what made everything fun and enjoyable to learn for me and my peers around me. He taught us not only algebra but skills in life and key things such as remembering things or a new way to ponder ideas, and he made it fun at the same time. I looked forward to everyday walking into his classroom because I knew it was going to be an excitable learning experience.

3. I am excited to take this honors class because I know it will challenge me and make me a better student. I look forward to advance in my reading and writing capabilities and to advance in my technology skills. I have a long road ahead for this goal, but I know with a lot of hard work and dedication I will achieve this and become more prepared for tougher classes in my future. This class will make a big difference for me because I will become more prepared for the technology in the near future, as well as get me ready college and more AP and honors courses.

6 word memoir

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I chose to do my six word memoir on this phrase because I always use the word "buckets" as in a lot and I always love to laugh. For example i always say, "We have buckets of time" or "that was buckets of fun." And phrases such as that. Also, I love to laugh and laughing is my favorite thing to do because it just makes you and everyone around you feel happier.

(First Blog)

Hello, my name is Katelyn Smith and I will be discussing the topic on how school kills creativity. I think my experience with school has been like what Ken Robinson speech was all about. That is, that teachers and the school don't look at the  children's talent, but only at test scores. Some students learn differently than others and taking test doesn't come as easy than it does to other students. But yet we all compare the students the same even if some learn differently, and the students that do not excel as much as other, look dumb or incapable to the school and to teachers. If the school were to just focus on the talents of an individual they will see just how smart and equal everyone is. Ken Robinson tells us, "Kids loose creativity by the time they reach adolescence." This is because the students who are different in school get told they're wrong and it rips the creativity right from them because they're scared of being different. To me and english class with freedom would look like adjusting to everybody's style of learning and let them be creative in their own way without saying they're wrong.