VOCABULARY #2

accoutrements: equipment worn by a soldier in addition to their clothing and weapons

apogee: the highest most distant point; the climax
apropos: opportune; pertinent
bicker: an angry, petty dispute or quarrel
coalesce: to grow together or into one body
contretemps: an embarrassing mischance
convolution: a rolled up, or coiled condition

cull: to choose; select; pick
disparate: distinct in kind; essentially different

dogmatic: asserting opinions in an arrogant manner
licentious: unrestrained by law or general morality
mete: to distribute or allot (something, usually unpleasant)
noxious: harmful or injurious to health or physical well-being
polemic: a controversial argument
populous: heavily populated
probity: integrity; honesty
repartee: a quick, witty reply
supervene: to take place or occur as something additional
truncate: to shorten by cutting off a part
unimpeachable: above suspicion; impossible to discredit

• At the apogee of the story, the hero had to fight his arch enemy to the death. 
• The two winding rivers eventually coalesced into one large lake.
• The populous city was short on resources such as housing and clean water.
• The two little boys bickered over who got to go on the swings first. 
• On their first date the nervous boy spilled his drink and was extremely embarrassed by his contretemps.
• The dogmatic teacher went on and on about his knowledge of politics and how his opinions were obviously correct.
• The man proved his probity by returning the lost wallet to the stranger.
• I have never been good with repartees, usually it takes me a long time to conjure up a witty comeback. 
• The well respected preacher had done so many great deeds that he had become nearly unimpeachable.
• At the end of the game the score was still tied, so the referees supervened to overtime.
• The tree was growing into their neighbors yard, so they were forced to truncate it.
• Politics are so hard to agree on because they are just a big compilation of polemics.
• After a lot of testing, the drug was proved to be noxious and had to be recalled.
• Immediately after being laid off, she was offered a teaching job at another school and was happy about this apropos situation.
• The beautiful flower was cut and put in a vase, only to later wilt in convolution.
• The man had a hard time culling between the red or black sports car.
• The man in the trucker hat and camouflage t-shirt was disparate at the vegetarian convention. 
• The soldier's unnecessary accoutrements were weighing him down as he tried to run form the enemy.
• The licentious man robbed the bank and ran from the police.
• The mother meted timeout to each of her mischievous children.

Beowulf Comprehension Questions

I divided the comprehension questions amongst my group of 5. Meghan Martella answered the first 11. I completed 11-21 (as shown below), Hannah Savaso did 22-33, Zach Roy completed 34-45, and Bailey Wineman did the last two sections. Splitting up the questions made the work load more manageable and allowed us the view different perspectives of the story.

Celebration at Heorot

1. Beowulf is like Sigemond in that he loves displaying his courage and valor through warring battles. However, he is unlike Sigemond in that he would rather go into battle alone and rely on his own strength, than to do well commanding others and being a leader.

2. Hrothgar is esctatic about Beowulf's deed, and celebrates his victory by awarding him many gifts. Among those gifts is a sword. Unferth is rather quiet after Beowulf succeeded, because he was proven wrong.

3.  In the story of Finn the Frisians and the Danes are at war, and until Hildeburgh, a Dane, married Finn, Lord of the Frisians. This idea of using a bride as a way to heal two warring states was proved ineffective, because Hildeburgh's brother was killed when visiting her and Finn was later killed out of vengeance. 

4. Wealtheow asks Hrothgar to not give Beowulf the throne, but instead to keep the throne in the bloodline.

5. Beowulf gives the necklace to Hygelac, who later wears it in the battle in which he dies. Wealtheow asks Beowulf to guide and protect her children.

6. So many men remain in the beer hall to sleep because, now that Grendel is dead, they think it is completely safe. This is a mistake because Grendel's vengeful mother comes in the night and takes one of Hrothgar's men and her son's arm.

Another Attack

1. Grendel's mother comes to Heorot to get revenge for her son's death. This is different than Grendel's reason for tormenting the hall. Grendel just enjoyed the thrill of killing the men and stopping their constant celebrations.

2. Hrothgar's response is to ask Beowulf to kill Grendel's mother. Grendel's mother had killed Aeschere who was Hrothgar's close friend and advisor.

3. The mere is a strange swampy lake, where Grendel and his mother live in an underwater cave. 

Beowulf's Fight with Grendel's Mother

1. Beowulf tells Hrothgar to take care of the Geats and give all of his property to Hygelac in the event that he dies in his underwater battle.

2. Before Beowulf enters the mere, him and his men must fight of sea monsters and find the bloody remains of dead men that Grendel and his mother had slaughtered. Amongst these remains they find Aeschere's head, which is more motivation for the vengeful men.

Textbook Notes: Beowulf and Others

Beowulf Intro

• written around 1000 A.D.
• written in Old English
• expressed by infliction
• syntax is much more fluid than modern
• usually performed orally (when first written) gave much different effect than simply reading it
• blend of fiction and nonfiction
• connected its preChristian characters to its Christian audience

From Trista

• about man exiled from Rome to live among the Scythian people
• there he is an outsider, a "barbarian", he doesn't speak their language
• unsafe, warring people

Far Corners of Earth

• again about unfamiliar surroundings and loneliness

Beowulf

• hero who ventures across the sea to slay Grendel
• he is successful, but then must also kill his vengeful mother, which he does
• all of the people of Merot are thankful and give thanks to the hero
• skips many years and Beowulf is now older and a king, goes into his last battle
• kills the dragon, with the help of his only loyal warrior, but gets injured and dies shortly after

MY OPINION ISN'T (A) RIGHT

"Right to Your Opinion"

• the author is saying that no one has the right to thier opinion, because if everyone had that right everyone would infringe on others same right
• he is NOT saying that people can't think for themselves, he is only stating that by definition no one is entitled to their opinion
• this saying doesn't have the literal definition that people connotate with it

Socratic Seminar

• interdependence: shared authority based on relationships, we all rely on eachother
• a right creates obligations in others not to violate that right
• limbic: emotional parts of our brains
• schema: ways of thinking that make things easier, like remembering the way home
• by switching the word use you can make this a correct statement

REFLECTIONS ON WEEK 1

1. I have access to a computer at home and a smartphone on the go, so I think both of those will be a huge help for this class. Also, next weekend I am getting a MacBook Pro for my birthday (I'm so excited!) and that will be another tool that I can utilize. Most of my friends are also taking this course so I think that will be helpful, because we can all get together to study, brainstorm, etc. Lastly, I am a little stressed about my busy schedule with four AP classes, so hopefully I find a good way to manage all that is on my plate.

2. The most fun and exciting learning experience I ever had was the three day trip I took with my school in 7th grade. We went to Monterey where we explored the aquarium and many other museums. It opened my eyes up to a hands on type of learning I hadn't yet known. Also, my experience in Mr.Greeley's AP World History class was a good experience. It pushed me harder than ever and taught me skills, like good study habits and critical thinking. 

3. I'm excited for the new freedom we have in deciding what it is we learn about and finally taking learning into our own hands. I think this class, similarly to Mr.Greeley's, will teach us useful life skills, like critical thinking, utilizing our resources, and networking.

VOCABULARY #1

1. Adumbrate: to outline; or to foreshadow 
2. Apotheosis: the elevation or exaltation of a person to the rank of a god
3. Ascetic: a person who leads an simple life, abstains from the normal pleasures of life
4. Bauble: a showy, usually cheap, ornament; trinket
5. Beguile: to take away from by cheating or deceiving
6. Burgeon: to grow or develop quickly; flourish
7. Complement: something that completes or makes perfect
8. Contumacious: stubbornly perverse or rebellious
9. Curmudgeon: a bad-tempered, difficult person
10. Didactic: inclined to teach or lecture others too much
11. Disingenuous: lacking in sincerity
12. Exculpate: to clear from a charge of guilt or fault
13. Faux pas: a slip or blunder in etiquette, manner, or conduct
14. Fulminate: to issue denunciations or the like
15. Fustian: pompous or bombastic; as language
16. Hauteur: arrogance
17. Inhibit: to prohibit; forbid
18. Jeremiad: a mournful complaint
19. Opportunist: a person who adapts his actions to take advantage of opportunities
20. Unconscionable: not in accordance with what is just or reasonable

Since Kingsolver always drew connections between the green mamba and Ruth May, it was somewhat easy to adumbrate her cause of death.

The scientist with much hauteur, granted himself apotheosis when he won the award, even though others thought he was arrogant and undeserving.

The waiter called me a curmudgeon, when I complained about the slow service and left a miniscule tip.

The girl was trying to convince her dad to let her attend her friend’s party, however he saw right through her disingenuous excuses about how she absolutely had to go and inhibited her from attending.

The opportunist took every chance he got to brighten others’ days, for example he told his friend that her blue shirt complemented her eyes.

The man was contumacious and, although no one wanted to listen to his long, didactic lecture, he continued.

The fustian poem was too cheesy and romanticized to even get its point across.

His unconscionable behavior cause him to get kicked out of the bar, but his loyal friends lied to the security guards and exculpated him.

The thief beguiled many baubles from the little shop, although they were worthless he was still thrilled with his crimes.

The rare life of an ascetic is characterized by much contemplation and the burgeoning of inner wisdom.

The contumacious man yelled back at the police officer and fulminated his higher authority when he was being issued a ticket.

The little boy spilled food on his lap at the prestigious dinner, his mother was embarrassed by his faux pas.

The upset mother wrote a jeremiad to the school’s principal when she discovered her son was being bullied.

1987 AP Exam

Multiple Choice Section:

I found this test to be difficult, because of its elevated vocabulary and complex passages. When reading the passages I think I understand them, until I look at the questions and then get confused again. I did worst in the poetry portion because is struggled to make correct inferences about themes and techniques.

Some questions I had trouble with were:

25. Since I didn’t understand the poem, I couldn’t quite guess what the author’s purpose was

32. Didn’t recognize all the terms listed

48. All answers seem reasonable, hard to determine one correct one

52. Didn’t know the definition of “desultory”

Essay #1:

This essay prompt was pretty straight forward and I had a couple ideas right of the bat. I was rather confident with the techniques I chose to talk about, but much less confident about the way I discussed the examples to back up my claims. I found it hard to put my ideas into words, without reusing the world “leisure” a million times. But overall, I feel with some practice with supporting my claim I can improve on this type of essay.

Essay #2:

I chose to write about “The Poisonwood Bible” because I have read it most recently and am comfortable with it. I hope that when the AP test comes around there is a book that works with the prompt that I am comfortable discussing. I think I did a good job of avoiding plot summary, but in doing that think I might have been a little too vague with my examples. Overall, I was much more comfortable with this essay than the first one.

MONTAIGNE / AUSTEN ESSAY

Words can’t even try to explain all of the intricate thoughts contained in the human mind. This is an idea coined by David Foster Wallace in “Good Old Neon”, but one that is widely proved through everything from conversations with a friend to classic literature. Montaigne’s amorphous essays supports this theory, however Jane Austen’s structured style finds a way around Wallace’s theory.

Montaigne’s collection of diverse essays is a unique piece of literature. Not only because it was written hundreds of years ago and still read today, but also because it is a prime example of stream of consciousness. He writes as if his words were the thoughts that immediately jumped to his mind when he began each random topic. Each essay contains no uniform type of structure and are big mixes of short choppy sentences and long run on paragraphs. Almost as random as his syntax is his essay topics, he discusses everything from friendship to cannibals to smells in his judgmental, all-knowing tone. His random topics and sentence structure mimic the flow of the human brain, however his tendency to jump from topic to topic and “barely sketch the outlines” of his complete ideas. Thus supporting Wallace’s theory that words can barely scratch the surface of the complexity that is the human mind.

Jane Austen, on the other hand, took a structured approach to expressing her ideas, which, even though more relevant for her time, were as profound as Montaigne’s. Austen conveys her controversial message of women’s worth through the mouths and actions of her fictional characters. But primarily she takes advantage of third person omnificent to show the true thoughts of the characters. Those thoughts play the biggest part in developing Austen’s profound theme. She tailors the released thoughts of her characters to express the theme she wants, going against Wallace’s theory. Her ability to portray her ideas through a understandable storyline finds fault in the notion that the brain is too complex to map.

Jane Austen and Montaigne both partake in the expression of profound ideas, however each takes a unique approach. Montaigne’s collection of essays proves that the mind is complex and unorganized, because his thoughts are jumbled and random. Austen has a clear cut plan to express her ideas and uses this structured method to disprove Wallace’s theory. Wallace is correct in saying that the brain is complex, however words may have the ability to organize this mess of thoughts if put in able hands.

POETRY #1

1. This commercial borrows “The Laughing Heart” by Charles Bukowski.

2. The use of this poem could be viewed as ironic because the poem promotes individuality and freedom, while a corporation benefits from the exact opposite. A corporation wants its consumers to follow society’s expectation that all “cool” or “popular” people act, in this case dress, a certain way. If the corporation’s
product is what the majority of people want that corporation benefits, demoting its customers’ individuality.

3. Charles Bukowski is known for his cynical works about the corruption in American city life, with violent and direct images he depicts the harsh lifestyle that he himself experienced. This is a unique poem for Bukowski because it is optimistic and uplifting, unlike his usual disturbingly truthful poems.

4. To find the answer to #1 I googled the first few lines of the poem I heard in the video and immediately the poem’s name and author popped up. Finding the answer to #3 was a little more difficult, but I again used Google and searched phrases like “Charles Bukowski biography”. After reading a few biographies I had a general sense of the author and answered #3.

ESSAY #1

The idea of complete isolation from all that you’ve known initially sounds strange and terrifying. However, how often are people given the opportunity to start over, learn and adapt to a new way of life, and form individual opinions. Leah Price, from The Poisonwood Bible by Barbara Kingsolver, deals with exile and comes away a changed woman. Exile brings about alienation and fear, but through these struggles can come enlightenment.

Leah left her comfortable American home and ventured with her family to a remote African village. She immediately was hit hard by culture shock. One loss after another came from this African experience due to the Price family’s inability to successfully adapt to this foreign environment. Leah’s solid faith in her father, a factor that played into her every action, slowly faded. Customs and values weren’t as they were in their hometown in Georgia, here the people didn’t accept her father with open arms. Time after time he passionately harsh sermons were ignored, causing Leah to question her father’s perfection. Eventually Leah lost all faith in her once flawless father. God and her father were so closely intertwined in her mind that when faith in her father disappeared, her faith in God crumbled as well. This isolation from her once ignorantly blissful life was one big loss of innocence for Leah. Through all the injustices she witnessed her childish acceptance that “life is fair” was gone.

Although Leah’s ignorantly blissful life was over a new women rose from the ashes. An enlightened women who understood two diverse cultures and who was inspired to serve justice. In her isolation, she had time to look, listen, and observe, like a wallflower amongst her bustling village. Leah saw the scheming of an assassination, mothers mourning lost children, and hundreds of hard workers going hungry. Without exile Leah wouldn’t have had the opportunity to observe these and wouldn’t have reached her eventual enlightened state.

Leah Price’s loss of innocence and gain of enlightenment evoke the theme of world injustice. Leah’s is just one story of the ups and downs to exile. All in all, despite exile’s connotation with punishment, it has the potential to be rewarding experience.

MY BIG QUESTION

Do all people experience emotions on the same level? Is one person’s “rock bottom” another person’s everyday norm? Is one person’s happiest moment another’s average mental state? What makes some people feel deeper or more extreme than others? What stretches this emotional scale? And will this scale ever be measurable?