November 27, 2011

Literary Analysis: Adventures of Huckleberry Finn

1. The plot of this book is about a boy named Huck and a slave named Jim who are trying to make it to the free states in America. At first, Huck is living with his dad who sadly beast him every night, so Huck sets up a plan and runs away. When he runs away to an island, it is there where he meets Jim. From there they try to make it to the free states, but they have many conflicts along the way. From cops and con-men, to a family vendetta that Huck is accidently in the middle of. One conflict, even gets Jim imprisoned. So Huck must save him from a family's house, who happens to be Tom Sawyer's aunt and uncle who mistake Huck for Tom. Coincidentally, Tom happens to show up also, but he goes along with Huck's lie. With Tom in the picture, he consieves this elaborate plan to freeing Jim. It's successful, but in the process Tom gets his leg shot, so they have to go back and save them. In the end, Huck and Jim find out that Jim has been freed for two months, because his owner died and in the will sated he was free. This lady also wants to adopt Huck, but he says no, because he tired of being "civilized".

Thinking Outside The Box

After reading "Allegory of the Cave" and " No Exit". I realized that both readings are quite similar, because they both talked about how humans think in terms of life and what is real and expected.
Plato described humans as ignorant human beings, saying that whatever we saw must be real, even though they are merely shadows. While Satre described humans as ignorant in the sense that they think they need physical objects to "torture" them. When in reality, people just torture themselves with their thoughts and other people around them. Both of their extended metaphors give enlightenment on hard complex ideas and make them easier to follow and understand.

Literary Term: Anaphora

Anaphora: repetition of a word or words at the beginning of two or more successive verses,clauses, or sentences.



The first time I heard an anaphora was watching the movie Ten Things I hate about you. The main character recites a poem, which is one big anaphora. After that, when I hear that word, I automatically start to recite the poem.




November 17, 2011

The Big Question

Revised: Is success a zero-sum game?
In order for one person to be successful, does another person need to lose, or can success be "the rising tide that lifts all boats."

Old: In order for someone to have success, why do people have to be hurt and back-stabbed in the process? Animals are meant to work as a team, so then why must people think the only way to the success is by themselves?


Example: In The Social Network, Mark back stabs Eduardo. Why was that needed? They could have been fine as a team.

Or, in the Penn State situation. He never said anything about his assistant coach. All for the sake of keeping his name clean and keeping the success of hisself and his career.

November 9, 2011

Performative Utterance Essay

Performative utterance is a key factor in every decision you make. Both in Hamlet and my own experiences, performative utterance plays a big part; because it helps people make decisions in every situation. It also helps secure an idea already in your brain, so you will have no second thoughts.
For Hamlet, self-overhearing basically created the plot and also built his character. It helped us get into his mindset and see what was going to happen next. Without this, we would go through the whole book picturing Hamlet as a young adult with crazy problems. Yet, when reading his soliloquies his true motives me alive. Realizing that he's not crazy and in fact, an amateur for revenge. His speaking constitutes action in the sense that we know what's coming next.

November 8, 2011

Use of Language

Nicole Montoya
Period 3
November 8, 2011

Hamlet use of language differentiates himself from many epic heroes in the sense that the reader can see exactly what Hamlet is thinking and feeling during every situation. Opposed to many epic heroes, where the author never reveals how the hero is feeling during situations. Also, the tone for Hamlet is confused and melancholy, while many epic poems are always adventurous and enthusiastic.
This difference is shown greatly in the "To be or not to be" soliloquy. While Hamlet is speaking to himself, the reader can really see how Hamlet is feeling and reacting to the idea of killing his uncle and avenging his father. "That makes calamity of so long life. For who would bear the whips and scorns of time," Hamlet is expressing to himself, how people live life rather knowing what's ahead, then killing themselves and not knowing the life after death. Greatly different from the epic heroes, because they not once consider if what they are doing is right or if there is a different way out. They just do what is right for the good of the whole, even if they die in the process.
Not only is the writing different, but also the way the author portrays how the character is feeling. Even though put into the same situations on whether to kill or not, Hamlet and the epic heroes go by it differently. In the text, Hamlet really shows how much he is fighting with himself, whether or not to kill. "by a sleep to say we end, The heartache" Or to just kill himself in order not to hurt anybody. Contrasting to the epic heroes, where they don’t really fight within themselves. They just fight whatever is in front of them.
Though both are great books and people, they express themselves in very different ways. Hamlet in a more artistic and emotional sense, and epic heroes, in a manly and straight forward way.

November 7, 2011

What I learned in Preston's

The biggest thing I learned from my AP literature class, is that in order to succeed, you must have your life in your own hands. And expect nobody to be there to help you. I first began to learn this while reading Hamlet. I saw a great change in his character, from in the beginning where he was very emotional, but then as the story progressed  Hamlet starts to control his emotions, stops relying on people and ends up avenging his father.
Also, through my literary analysis book Catch 22, I saw the same realization. The main character Yoassarin could see that nobody in the army would ever help him get discharged, and that the only way was to start acting crazy. Something I feel like doing as well.
Through this and other elements of the class, I have actually pushed myself to look for many scholarships and do all my college applications by myself. I realized now that i'm getting older and that I can't expect my parents or teachers to help me with anything. Now I do everything I do "Like a boss".


November 2, 2011

Roy Christopher Video Call

Well, that was quite a cool video chat.

I really like how he said that even though technology is expanding, that doesn't mean that you have to follow your peers.
     As in, he has been a riding a bike for 13 years because he doesn't have a car.
     Or how he still doesn't have a smartphone.
It's good to get away from all the technology at times, and just to relax or stare at a wall.

It's also nice to hear him say, that even though most things are becoming mobile, he still feels that some things will always be on the computer or t.v. Or actually on paper.

To the whole multitasking discussion, I really related to him, when he said how he prefers to have multiple projects on hand. So he knows for sure, he needs to actually start them. It's exactly how I do things also.

Nice to know also, that he has his trust in our generation. :)

These were the highlights I got from the video chat.
It was a very engaging experience, that I would love to happen again. :)

October 24, 2011

Literary Anaylsis: Slaughter House 5

1.      1.. The plot is about a man named Billy Pilgrim and his life. Billy basically flashes back and forth from past, present and future. He first expiernces this, when he gets captured during WWII, where is whole life flashes before him. After that, the book goes from him meeting aliens called Tralfamadores who tell him that time and death aren't linear.  To his life as a wealthy doctor. Billy ends up realizing how he will die and accepts it, knowing that he'll just time travel back to another point in his life, where he will be alive. 

2. 2. The Theme of Slaughter house five, is that war is destructive not only physically, but also emotionally.

3. 3. The tone of this book is Satirical
  • “If I hadn’t spent so much time studying Earthlings,” said the Tralfamadorian, “I wouldn’t have any idea what was meant by ‘free will.’ I’ve visited thirty-one inhabited planets in the universe, and I have studied reports on one hundred more. Only on Earth is there any talk of free will.”  It shows how humans are the only creatures that think "Free Will" exists. But it really doesn't.
  • "And nobody held it against him that he dropped jellied gasoline on people. But they found his halitosis unforgivable." Funny how they say nothing about the gasoline, yet they get mad at his disease.


4. Symbols, motifs, tone, and irony
      One symbol in the book is when is Billy is talking about the colors of blue and ivory, he is basically describing how thin the line is between life and death, which is one of the basics of this book.  "blue and ivory claw
      There is also a motif in the book, where after talking about death, Vonnegut writes "so it goes on" this shows how it doesn't matter who dies, life still goes on. You can't beat death.

October 23, 2011

Tools That Change The Way We Think


"Back in 2004, I asked [Google founders] Page and Brin what they saw as the future of Google search. 'It will be included in people's brains,' said Page. 'When you think about something and don't really know much about it, you will automatically get information.'

'That's true,' said Brin. 'Ultimately I view Google as a way to augment your brain with the knowledge of the world. Right now you go into your computer and type a phrase, but you can imagine that it could be easier in the future, that you can have just devices you talk into, or you can have computers that pay attention to what's going on around them and suggest useful information.'

'Somebody introduces themselves to you, and your watch goes to your web page,' said Page. 'Or if you met this person two years ago, this is what they said to you... Eventually you'll have the implant, where if you think about a fact, it will just tell you the answer."

-From In the Plex by Steven Levy (p.67






My Thoughts:
Even though the internet/media/ technology has widen the barrier for how much information you can acquire. I think it has made actually think less. Because now, when we are faced with a problem, we don't use any problem solving techniques, we just type the question in Google and expect to find the answer in seconds. I think it has slowly made me think less and more impatient when concentrating on a subject. When I was younger and faced with a problem, I had to actually ask around and use many resources to find answers, which me patient and helped me focus. But now, in a matter of minutes I can find anything in world. So yes, technology has made everything for me to find. But it also took away all my thinking skills. 

October 19, 2011

In search of

a) I learned that they really personalized your search engine. I always thought it was based on your previous searches. Not over 30 other things.
b)It makes me realize, that I will never get the whole picture on anything I look up. It will always just be a one sided information.
c)That the idea of the internet has changed? It went from the place, that had everything in the world and you could find anything. To just being what they think you "want" to know.
d)I don't know. Get a better search engine



I just used different words when searching, I was really blunt and general, which is how i usually am.
then I found this website, http://shakespeare.palomar.edu/life.htm

October 18, 2011

Notes on Hamlet



It has changed greatly, at first I just thought Hamlet was this pissy young adult with so much angst. As the plot started to thicken though, I realized that he actually had a really good brain on his shoudler. He really planned alot of things through. I feel like we really see  how much Hamlet has grown by the end of act 3. Where to go from here? I have no idea, but i'm excited to find out.

Who was Shakespeare?





Well, i went on google and typed in "Shakespeare's back ground" and got the website http://www.urbana.k12.oh.us/699/oh/williamshakespeare-backgro.htm. It said that he was born  April 23, 1964. His dad was glove maker and was fined for having a dunghill by his house. Shakespeare was married when he was eighteen, it was actually a shotgun wedding to Anne Hathaway. It wasn't until 1592 when his plays started to become hits. He died April 23, 1616.
Shakespeare, when the name is brought up in classrooms, I think most students hide for cover knowing what is coming for them. The  iambic pentameter alone makes you hate life and just reading old english is like nails on scratch board. Thats how I felt freshman year "reading" Romeo and Juliet. As my high school career comes to an end now, I have realized that Shakespeare is still hard as heck to comprehend, but I have become better at using tricks to understand it.I get that you can just read any of his literature like a book, you have to read it over and over again, and look up words to truly get what he is trying to get across.  

To facebook or not to Facebook



Facebook was made for pure enjoyment and the idea of reconnecting and expanding your friendbase. Of course with every social network, they are always risks, considering that you are putting all your information on public. There is really no "real" risk, as long as you are being careful with who you are talking to and watching what is being posted. Facebook has great benefits though, because they help you communicate with people that you thought you would forget after they moved. Or share with friends and family pictures. 
When I read the article though and starting discussing about it, I realized that Facebook is more than just a pretty face. They really do have alot of advertisement on the website that I totally ignored until now. But other than that, facebook is still the same to me. I think that Facebook is a tool, neither negative more positive. It's once you start using it and making it your own, is when it can either be to your advantage, or be the ruiner of your life.

September 27, 2011

Literary analysis: Catch 22

1. The plot, is about how Yossarian ( the protangist) tries to be sent back home during War World Two. But can't because of many obstacles that are in his way. One being the catch of catch-22, which has many different meanings throughout the book. One meaning being how, if you are crazy, you can be discaharged, but Catch-22 states that once you say you're crazy, that means you're sane because you realize you are crazy. Basically going around in a circle. Yossarian's main goal during the book is too stay alive throughout the whole war and always fend for himself, which in turn makes the men think he's crazy.
2. I think the theme of Catch-22, is that, everything in life will always have a "catch-22" ( a circular reasoning)
In Yossarian's life, he not only had the written statement, but he also had his mental one too,  life is not worth living without a moral concern for the well-being of others, but a moral concern for the well-being of others endangers one’s life.
3. I think that author's tone is sarcastic, in the sense, that only person that really understands war, is the person everybody in the army thinks is crazy.
"His nature was invariably gentle and polite. He had lived for almost twenty years without trauma, tension, hate or neurosis, which was proof to Yossarian of just how crazy he really was."
"They were the most depressing group of people Yossarain had ever been with. They were always in high spirits."
" He had decided to live forever or die in the attempt, and his only mission each time he went up was to come down alive."
4. Heller's irony, hyperboles, foreshadowing and symbolism helped me really get the theme.

  •  "There was only one catch and that was Catch-22, which specified that a concern for one’s own safety in the face of dangers that were real and immediate was the process of a rational mind. Orr was crazy and could be grounded. All he had to do was ask; and as soon as he did, he would no longer be crazy and would have to fly more missions. Orr would be crazy to fly more missions and sane if he didn’t, but if he was sane he would have to fly them. If he flew them he was crazy and didn’t have to; but if he didn't want to he was sane and had to." Irony is very prevalent in this quote, which basically makes you realize that the book is set around this one quote.
  • The book is really one big hyperbole, in the sense that the author writes each character with huge exaggeration so you can really see what Yossarrian has to deal with.