Literature Analysis

 

 

  The Joy Luck Club

1) This book is about women who have emigrated from China to the United States, and their struggle to be independent without losing their identities. All of the women share the same struggle to find happiness. They meet up religiously to talk about their struggles with each other to help one another. It is about to generations of women. Both generations struggle to gain control over their lives. The second generation of women try to learn more about the backgrounds of their parents. Some of the main conflicts happen within the women's marriage. 

2) The main theme of this novel is self-discovery. Each of the women are working to find their own niche in the world.

3) The tone of this book is hopeful each of the women have traveled to America in the hopes of creating a better life for themselves and their families.

" and in my memory I can feel the hope that beat in me in the night"

" how else could I appreciate what my parents had done for me?"

" He gave me this from his heart"

4)Foreshadow- "I was beginning to think about how to escape my marriage"

 

diction-"Play note right, but doesn't sound good! No singing sound" The moms don't speak the best English, because they came from China

 

setting-" We were a city of leftovers mixed together"

 

imagery- " He had lost most of the hair on top of his and he had eyes that looked tired and sleepy

 

pathos- " I had just seen a little girl die right in front of me"

 

allusion-" The Vietnam war was wildly unpopular"

 

irony- " He told her he could make her beautiful, instead one side of her smile fell"

 

symbolism- "To make her point she crushed the stand of beads she had just given her"

 

flashback-"When the bombing sounds grew further away, we scratched our way back to the city"

 

dialogue- "What kind of punishment?'

" Too many questions"

 

Characterization

1)Indirect- " She yanked the full length of my hair like the reins of horse"

" My mom told me about a man who lived in a room I was never to go in. I have been scared to since then"

direct- " I was very confident with childish excitement."

" My mother had grand dreams of wealth"

2) The authors diction changes based on which generation of women the character talking is from. The first generation doesn't speak proper English, because they are from China.

3) There are many different protagonists, but I would describe them all as being very dynamic. Each of them have different background that have affected their lives today.

4)In the end I don't think this novel has really changed me too much. I have a better idea of what it must have been like to grow up in China during war. I feel like I have gotten to know all of the main characters on a personal level. I feel sympathy for all of them.

 

 

 

 

 

Tale of two cities lecture notes

- the book was largely influenced by Dicken's views on the revolution

- his career started off small with him being an editor

- Paris and London were both important parts of his life.

- he helped write and play a part in " the Frozen Deep" 

- Most of the characters in Dicken's plays have the initials CD or DC

- During an acting job Dickens came out with the idea for this novel

What's the story

Charles Dickens wrote A tale of two Cities to illustrate the trials and tribulations of exploring the world of love. He wanted people to know that to get to the good parts of life you have to pass through the bad. He does this using a anaphora " it was the best of times it was the worst of times", imagery " mysterious backs and ends peeped out at us while we were walking", and diction " I do hope there will be no oniony and tobaccoey smotherings" 

Lit terms #4

interior monologue-expression of a character's thoughts: an extended passage in a story or novel that expresses what a character is thinking and feeling
ex. " I couldn't help but think how cute he was"
inversion- An interchange of position of adjacent objects in a sequence
ex. "together we stand, divided we fall"
juxtaposition- an act or instance of placing close together or side by side, especially for comparison or contrast.
ex. " to be, or not to be"
lyric-a. expressing the writer's personal feelings and thoughts : b. having the form and manner of a song
ex. "kids again"
magic(al) realism-  a genre where magic elements are a natural part in an otherwise mundane, realistic environment.
 ex. "romeo and Juliet"
metaphor (extended, controlling, & mixed)-implicit comparison
ex. the sun is yellow as corn
metonymy- a figure of speech in which a thing or concept is called not by its own name but rather by the name of something associated in meaning
ex. redneck
modernism-a philosophical movement in the arts
ex. the book Ulysses
 monologue- is presented by a single character, most often to express their mental thoughts aloud
ex "to be or not to be"
mood-a state or quality of feeling at a particular time
ex. happy
motif-theme in work of literature
ex. in " a doll's house" the dolls were a motif
myth-a traditional story about heroes or supernatural beings, often attempting to explain the origins of natural phenomena or aspects of human behavior
ex. black watermelon  seeds will sprout in your stomach
narrative-story , account
ex. Huckleberry fin
narrator- a person who tells a story or gives an account of something
ex Holden in catcher in the rye
naturalism- a movement, esp in art and literature, advocating detailed realistic and factual description
ex. white fang
novelette/novella-a written, fictional, prose narrative normally longer than a short story but shorter than a novel.
ex. of mice and men
omniscient point of view-Point of view in which the narrator sees into the minds of some but not all of the characters
onomatopoeia-imitation of sound in words: the formation or use of words that imitate the sound associated with something
ex. kind kendall kisses killers
oxymoron-expression with contradictory words
ex. alone together, act natural
 pacing-a rate of movement
ex. Shakespeare's writing is all well pace
 parable-moral or religious story: a short simple story intended to illustrate a moral or religious lesson
ex. the turtle and the hare
 paradox-something absurd or contradictory
ex. you may just wake up dead

Lit terms Remix 1-5

circumlocution- more talking than necessary

 classicism- art that is too classy for me


 cliché- lets all just do the same thing. We'll make money right?


 climax- well this will keep things interesting...

 colloquialism- no classy talk in my house!

Literary terms 2

circumlocution- an indirect way of saying something
ex. My nana says bless her heart when someone says something stupid
 classicism-restrained Greek or Roman arts
ex. Homer liked to write in this style
 cliché- an overused term or statement
ex The sun will come out tomorrow
 climax- turning point
ex. During the climax in a romance novel the main character may realize they're in love
 colloquialism- informal presentation of information
ex. Dayum girl you fine
comedy- a narrative that ends happily
ex. Shakespeare has written a few comedies
 conflict- a prolonged struggle
ex. The conflict in Matilda was the mean principal
 connotation- having a different meaning
ex. Belly button rings may have a negative connotation
 contrast- marked difference
ex. A foil is created in many stories to provide contrast in the characters
 denotation-dictionary definition
ex. conflict- prolonged struggle
 denouement- the outcome of events
ex. The denouement of My sisters keeper is the sister dies.
 dialect-regional variety of language
ex. Someone from Alabama might say "fixin to"
 dialectics- tension between conflicting ideas
ex. A philosopher might argue using this
dichotomy- separation of different things
ex. there is dichotomy between republicans and democrats
 diction-choice of words
ex. The authors choice of diction reflected the characters lack of education
 didactic- containing a moral or a message
ex. the story with the turtle who wins the race slow and steady
 dogmatic- having strong rigid opinions
ex. a nun believe god exists
 elegy- mournful poem or song
ex. the poem someone might read at a funeral
 epic- a long narrative poem with a hero
ex. The odyssey
 epigram- a witty saying
ex. it better to love and hurt than never love at all
 epitaph- writing commemorating the dead
ex. he was a great brother and father
 epithet- an insult
ex. you smell
 euphemism- use of a neutral phrase
ex. to say "passed gas' instead of fart
 evocative- stimulating memories
ex. that smell reminds me of my grandma

AP Prep post 1: Siddhartha

 

1)How was this novel an allegory and what was one theme from Siddhartha?

A.  I personally think the story from the novel is about the struggle to find your niche in society. The theme is self discovery.

http://www.gradesaver.com/siddhartha/q-and-a/how-was-this-novel-an-allegory-and-what-was-one-theme-from-siddhartha-130944/

2)What would happen if Siddhartha was alone and did not have Govinda?

I had trouble answering this question with little background information. This is the answer I found.

A.

I suppose Siddhartha would have had nobody to travel with. Govinda was a true companion that helped Siddhartha establish his path. Things would have changed slightly if Siddhartha had been alone but, as a major theme presents, Siddhartha's path would have only been slightly different on his way to enlightenment.

http://www.gradesaver.com/siddhartha/q-and-a/how-was-this-novel-an-allegory-and-what-was-one-theme-from-siddhartha-130944/

3) What purpose does self-denial serve in Siddhartha? What about self-indulgence?

A. With out self denial/indulgence there would be no self discovery. Siddhartha has not up until this point realized how alone in the world he is.

http://www.shmoop.com/siddhartha/questions.html

4) What does Siddhartha do that allows him to achieve enlightenment?

I didn't know the answer, but I found this.

A.He lets his son follow his own path

http://www.shmoop.com/siddhartha/enlighten-me-flashcards.html

5) Siddhartha’s father is a Brahmin, which means he is a what?

I found this answer online.

A. Religious leader. (seemed important to know the exact definition)

http://www.sparknotes.com/lit/siddhartha/quiz.html

 

 

 

Hacking my education

During my last semester in this course I hope to learn to be a good mentor. My personal belief is the only way to get better at something is to practice. I have joined a collaborative working group filled with students my age who also hope to achieve this goal. We are coming together not only to help ourselves, but also to help each other. By doing this I think we are already becoming better mentors to each other. We will be enlisting the help of Dr. Preston and other teachers to get a better idea of what we need to improve in order to become better mentors. I want to be a good mentor, because in the future I want to be a teacher. I appreciate the opportunity I have to work with my peers to take the next step towards my career path.

What's in it for me?

This blog is a tool for me to share what I learn about both myself and this curriculum throughout the year. I want to use it as a way to connect with people who are at similar points in their lives. That is my goal in all of this. What is the purpose of taking my time to do these posts, if not because of you the people who read it? Sure you may be just a classmate looking for ideas on how to do your post, but hey my goal of sharing information would then be accomplished! So that is all my blog is meant for.