Lit. Analysis #3

LeBron James:
As I watch the NBA play offs, I see this man named LeBron James just dominate everything he does. I start wondering how he got to this point of being the best player in the world. When I start reading the book and see what he has came from, my whole perspective of LeBron James is completely changed.

General:
1. The book LeBron James is about the childhood and struggles of LeBron James. James played high school basketball at St. Vincent- St. Mary Highschool in his hometown of Akron, Ohio. He was highly promoted in the national media as a future NBA superstar while winning multiple national player of the year awards during his junior and senior year. After graduating, he was selected with the first overall pick in the 2003 NBA draft by the Cavaliers. His mother's name is Gloria Marie James. Growing up, life was often a struggle for LeBron and Gloria, who moved from apartment to apartment in the seedier neighborhoods of Akron while Gloria struggled to find steady work. Gloria allowed LeBron to move in with the family of Frank Walker, a local youth football coach, who introduced LeBron to basketball when LeBron was nine-years-old and thats where it all began!

2. I believe the theme of this book is hard work and perseverance. When LeBron was growing up as a child it ws very tough. He stuck with it and trusted in the Lord that everything was going to work out for the best. If he would have quit or said it was too hard, we would have never seen the best player in the world.

3. The Tone of this book is very matter of fact and straight-forward. The author of this book did a great job of describing how difficult the times really were for LeBron and his mother.

Characterization:
1. In this book, LeBron is a dynamic character. In the start of the book he got in a lot of trouble and didn't take sports to seriously. By the end of the book, we see LeBron mature from a kid to an adult just by the work effort and his actions.

2. I feel like I do know LeBron way more now than I did before. I know his struggles and what he stands for now. Any man who can go through tough times such as LeBron did and then reach his goal is a strong man. I find it cool how now he has all the money in the world not only for himself, but for everyone that stood by him and helped him be the man that he is now.

Lit Analysis #2: One Flew Over the Cuckoos Nest

General:

1. Mr. McMurphy is admitted into an insane asylum where he rebels against the nurses and security. His influence affects the rest of the patients to act out in the way that he does. He leads the rest of the patients to rebel against Mrs. Ratchet causing them to be monitored and put under higher security. He leads an attempt to escape from the asylum in which he is the only one to try because the rest of the patients are too fearful. He gets caught and is forced to have an apesiotame. A patient by the name of chief then leads the lifeless Mr. McMurphy out of the asylum and escape together.

2. In this story it shows that If you have people around you that believe and trust in you, you can attain your goals that you set. You can accomplish a lot more when you have support.

3. The authors tone is desperateness. Mr. McMurphy meets chief and seems desperate to get chief to say something. Through rebelling against Mrs. Ratchet, he shows desperateness to have a form of power, and by trying to escape he shows desperateness for freedom.

4. The author sets a mood of loneliness which helped me understand the authors use of desperateness because of how lonely the patients were even in each others company. By setting his tone the author was ale to have the mood and tone connect to bring a connection between the reader and the characters.

Characterization:

1. The author uses indirect characterization to describe the relationship between chief and Mr. McMurphy. He also uses indirect characterization to describe McMurphys power over the rest of the patients. The author uses direct characterization to describe chiefs personality by showing his way of silence. He also uses direct characterization to describe each patient and there disabilities.

2. The authors syntax doesn't change when talking about a character, but the diction changes to a characterization use if words.

3. The protagonist is static and flat. McMurphy doesn't change his attempt to escape or  change his way of rebellion.

4. After reading this book I felt like I had actually met someone because the way the author wrote the characters interaction and drive for freedom. I could actually understand their wants and their drives for power and freedom.

Multiple Choice Questions

1. A
2. B
3. B
4. A
5. C
6. C
7. D
8. E
9. B
10. D
11. A
12. A
13. D
14. C
15. C
16. B
17. E
18. B
19. B
20. A
21. D
22. D
23. A
24. C
25. C
26. A
27. E
28. B
29. D
30. A
31. A
32. A
33. B
34. D
35. A
36. A
37. C
38. E
39. D
40. D
41. B
42. E
43. C
44. C
45. A
46. C
47. D
48. D
49. B
50. D
51. C
52. A
53. C
54. D
55. E

Lit Analysis #1

Fahrenheit 451:

General
1. Fahrenheit 451 is a book about a man named Guy Montag. The setting is in a future American society. Guy is a firefighter who's job is, to start fires rather than put them out. He is supposed to set fire to any house that may have books in it. He married a woman he soon realizes that he has no love for and she feels the same. She even tries to kill herself. Then one day a girl named Clarisse starts to talk to him and makes him question his life and how he is living. He is called to start a fire, but while at the house he reads from one of the books and he decides to take it with him. He remembers a man that he had met in the park named Faber and meets with him to discuss the book. He becomes enthralled with books, but he is betrayed by Mildred and a mechanical hound is set on him, but he gets away and lives with a group that shares his love of books.
2. I feel that the theme of Fahrenheit 451 is that the more you know the more power you have. It shows that knowledge and and education through books is a vital tool to society. Books can bring immense pleasure and we as people can learn so much from them. It shows that people have a right as a person in society to learn and not to be happy with their ignorance.
3. The tone has a certain intensity to it. All the characters are extreme and are on the edge of being realistic. The events are usually blown out of proportion and apocalyptic. The author is very descriptive and uses vivid descriptions. Big events usually happen on the biggest scales.
4. Imagery- Somewhat going along with analysis, Bradbury was always very descriptive and used very vivid words to describe.
Contrast- The author contrasts the personalities of Guy and Mildred throughout the story.
Foreshadowing- Mildred's attitude is when Guy shows her the book is a foreshadowing of things to come
Motif- The idea that knowledge is important comes up throughout the book.

Symbolism- There are many things that are used to symbolize insects

Irony- Mildred is looking for the book and keeps adjusting Guy's pillow and it's under there. 

Metaphor- Mildred's earpiece are compared to insects. 

Characterization.
1. "I'm antisocial, they say." Clarisse says this and shows her outgoing, unorthodox, but cheerful side.

 2. It only changes when a character is interacting with different characters or is in another setting. The characters act differently around different characters which causes the syntax and diction to change.

3. Guy is a dynamic character. He starts off the book burning houses and being totally submissive and ok with world he is living in. His encounter with Clarisse changes all that and questions who he is and who he wants to be. He eventually ends up changing who he is and challenging himself to be a better person.
He is probably a round character. Guy has many different qualities that distinguish himself.

4. At the end of the book I did feel like I knew Guy. Guy was the only character like I felt could be a real person. All the other characters were missing something that could make them truly believable. Him being a dynamic and round character helped give the impression that I had indeed met an actual person.

I Am Here

I Am Here:

This first grading period I have been doing alright with everything. At first it was kinda hard with basketball everyday and coming home so tired. I look at my blog now and see that I am barely missing anything which is 1000x better than last semester. My smart goal is starting to fall into place with college right around the corner. My first semester I ended it with a 4.0 GPA which I am striving for again this semester. My groups senior project is just kicking into gear also. We have just contacted previous years students to ask for advice and to guide us. We are using Mariah Cooks, Chad Foster, and Max Kuhlman's project last year as a building block on what we want to accomplish. I am looking forward to continuing to grow as a student in this class. Bring on the AP Exam!!!!!

Lit. Terms 82-103

Lit Terms:82-103

• Omniscient Point of View- knowing all things, usually the third person
• Onomatopoeia- whose 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 argument; 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 doesn't have a regular rhyme pattern
• Protagonist- the central character in a work of fiction; opposes antagonist
• 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 straightforward 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
• 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 complication, advancement towards climax

Lit. Terms 57-81

LIT TERMS: 57-81

• 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.
• Narrator:  one who narrates, or tells, a story.
• Naturalism: extreme form of realism.
• Novelette/Novella: short story; short prose narrative, often satirical.

Lit. Terms 31-56

Lit Terms: 31-56

• 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 in 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 by 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
• 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 an indirect, mild, or vague word or expression for one thought to be coarse, offensive, or blunt
• Evocative: a calling forth of memories and sensations; the suggestion or production through artistry and imagination of a sense of reality
• Exposition: 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(s).
• Fable:  a short simple story, usuall with animals as characters, designed to teach a moral truth
• Fallacy: from Latin word "to deceive", 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 (such as metaphor and simile)
• Flashback: a narrative device that flashes back to prior events
• Foil: a person or thing that, by contrast, makes another seem better or more promient
• 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; "planing" to make the outcome convincing, though not to give it away
• Free Verse: verse without conventional metrical pattern, with irregular pattern or no rhyme

Smart Goal

My smart goal for right now is to get a scholarship for golf at ucsb. This up coming season for me is very important to where I go for college. Grades is also a big part of my scholarship too! Last semester I recieved a 4.0 gpa and I need the same this semester. Also getting a 4 on both of my AP tests is a goal of mine.

Lit. Terms 6-30

• Analogy : a comparison made between two things to show the similarities between them
• Analysis: a method in which a work or idea is separated into its parts, and those parts given rigorous and detailed scrutiny
• Anaphora: a device or repetition in which a word or words are repeated at the begining of two or more lines, phrases, clauses, or sentences
• Anecdote: a very short story used to illustrate a point
• Antagonists: 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 of some doctrine, piece of writing, cause, 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 proving either the truth or falsity of an idea in proposition; also, the thesis or proposition itself
• Assumption: the act of supposing, or taking for granted that a thing is true
• 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 of a statement balances the first half in inverted word order
• Circumlocution: a roundabout or evasive speech or writing, in which many words are used but a few would have served
• Classicism: art, literature, and music reflecting the principles of ancient Greece and Roe
• Cliche: a phrase or situation overused within society
• Climax: the decisive point in a narrative or drama; the pint 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: loose ends tied up in a story after the climax, closure, conclusion

Literary Analysis 5

5.) Grape of Wrath by John Steinbeck

• Summary: This book is about a family during the great depression in the 1930's. They are moving from Oklahoma to California to look for a better life to live. The book is about their travels and the problems they encounter along the way.

• Theme: The theme I noticed was how the Joad family got treated so badly the whole trip for no particular reason. In the end, the lack of judgment really hurt the people. You need to treat people the same way as you want to be treated.

• Tone: The authors tone was very specific on how he wanted to describe the great depression and I believe he did a great job on doing so. He described every little situation with great detail and it made me learn a lot about the great depression that I never knew.

• Characterization: Steinbeck chose to use indirect characterization so he could focus on the bigger situation which is the great depression. He does a great job of describing a scene without using dialogue.
• Diction/Syntax: Steinbeck influences the story a lot by changing his diction and syntax throughout the story. He changes the characters point of view throughout also.
• Character: Tom Joad is considered to be dynamic because he changes as the story goes on. In the beginning he really has no dreams or goals when he comes out of prison, but in the end he creates dreams and goals that he wants to achieve in California.

Literary Analysis 4

4.) Brave New World by Aldous Huxley

• Summary: Brave New World is all about a controlled society, or a perfect one. There is no such thing as random or chance in this world. Everyone is put into a level such as Alpha, Beta, Gamma, Delta and so on. In this story a man named Bernard is a Alpha plus and a strange man named John who left his country to come live in the perfect world. Once John gets there and realizes how awful it is to have every predetermined or simulated, he hates it and tries to stay out of the way. Once he starts doing his own thing, the public is very angry at John and gets to him. The coward that John is, he ends up hanging himself to escape it.

• Theme: The theme is that our imperfections is what makes us who we are. Without our imperfections and differences we are all the same and it is just basically boring. In the story John realizes that he would rather take his own life than to live a depressing, non motivational life. 

• Tone: Aldous Huxley uses a hopeless tone to show how useless a perfect society is. I believe he realizes that the way our societies in our world are headed that this kind of thing can happen in the future. The way he speaks of it you can easily tell that he does not like the idea of a perfect society.

• Diction: His diction in this story our choice of words shows his view on the thought of a perfect society. He uses descriptions that are bland and boring to show how uninteresting this type of society would be for him.
• Syntax: The syntax used by Huxley seems to be very straight forward. He uses lines that are just very basic and easy to understand but not interesting at all.
• Satire: The satire in this novel is very important because it shows that he thinks this is a possibility in our world. He believes our society is headed down the same path.
• Repetition: The authors repetition helped show his stance on a perfect society. He kept using pointless and boring descriptions of events and made it sound really bad.

Fact of the Day

Today is my Birthday! I started to think of all the things I can do now.

• No more curfew so I can stay out past 11PM legally
• I am able to gamble or participate in the lottery
• I am an adult now so everything will go on record and I can be arrested and sent to jail
• Now I am legally allowed to drive anyone I want without restrictions.

Fact of the Day

Im watching the Packers vs. Lions football game and they showed a clock that was 15 minutes fast. They said that Vince Lombardi, one of the most famous coaches ever, demanded his players be 15minutes early to everything so he had a clock created with time 15 minutes ahead of the actual time. Interesting, but affective.

Fact of the Day

Today was the first time in the history of the Heisman Trophy that a freshman won the award. Congratulations to Johnny "Football" Manziel for winning such a prestigious award!

Literary Analysis 3

3.)  Lord of the Flies by William Golding

• Summary: The Lord of the Flies by William Golding begins with a group of young boys that are evacuating their school because of a on going war. They get on a plane and while they are on the plane, it gets shot down and it crashes on an island. Once everyone alive finds each other, they elect leaders. They choose Ralph and Jack. While Ralph is the head leader Jack is in charge of the hunting. Ralph and Jack don't get along. While the boys have a fire going, it gets out of control and burns down most of the island. While they are roaming around two of the boys say they saw a beast. Once other people start believing in the beast, pretty soon the whole group believes and the beast lives within them. Ralph and Jack are fighting more than ever. The island gets separated into two groups when Jack claims he is the new leader. Jack and his hunters go kill a pig to sacrifice to the beast. As it is on the stick, Simeon comes over and sees the head covered in flies so he calls it the Lord of the Flies. The Lord of the Flies tells Simeon that he lives within everyone and there is no beast! Simeon goes to tell the others but it was too late as they already started killing each other like savages. Ralph hides in the forest and buries the pigs head then passes out on the beach. He wakes up with a officer looking at him asking if he was alright.

• Theme: I believe the theme of this story is innocence. These kids are still little and have a lot to learn but once they are thrown in this situation it all comes at them. I think their innocent little hearts got overtaken by the "beast" within them. 

•  Tone: William Golding wrote this in a very dark tone. Once the plane had crashed, there became a sense of chaos and panic which then led to dark thoughts. Thoughts such as "should we have laws and abide or just hunt a kill" show the darkness that corrupted the boys.

• Five Literary Elements/Techniques: 
• Diction: Golding's diction in this book helps the reader understand what is going on by giving great descriptions such as, "The crowd surged after it, poured down the rock, leapt onto the beast, screamed, struck, bit, tore."
• Plot: The plot is shown significantly by the boys not only killing animals and hunting but also hunting and killing their own kind; each other.
• Tone: The loss of a structure really showed how the tone was dark and corrupt.
• Symbolism: The one major symbol in this book is the conch which calls everyone together. Once the conch gets broke, all civil actions are tossed out and it is straight chaos.
• Characterization: With all the characters being so young, it helps the reader understand how messed up the situation really is. Little boys do not come close to doing any of the stuff they do in this book which shows the loss of innocence.

Fact of the Day

Its about that time when people start complaining how "cold" it is here. People don't realize our cold is everyone else warm! I wished it snowed here instead of being so hot! Then i started thinking of snowflakes.  Most snowflakes form with 6 tips or branches. Generally, the colder it is when the snowflake is formed the sharper and more defined the tips will be. Thats why our snowflakes, well are just water...

Fact of the Day

The only animal with four knees is the elephant. My knees hurt so thank god I don't have four of them hurting!

Fact of the Day

Over Christmas break my family and I are supposed to go to New York but my father is terrified of planes. So, I just told him that more people are killed from donkeys in a year than planes; which is interestingly true!

My Sonnet

My Sonnet

School is our job; day in and day out.

8:00am to 3:00pm; no ways out.

Each year our learning gets tougher,

With opportunities waiting at every corner.

Most people see school as living hell.

Some even compare it to being like jail.

I sit back and laugh at these ridiculous statement's,

Because I come to school to better my education.

Without school their is no future ahead,

So don't complain, just work harder instead.